When you’re just getting started as a caregiver, the sheer volume of what you’re managing for your elderly family member easily gets overwhelming. Here are some big considerations for you to focus on while you’re getting your footing.
Her Safety Is the Biggest Concern.
Safety is tremendously important for your senior. If she’s in an unsafe situation, that’s going to impact your aging family member’s ability to age in place. Safety encompasses everything from being able to navigate her home without falling to being able to continue to drive. Having solutions for potential safety issues is crucial. When it comes to driving, hiring elder care providers might be the right answer to help her to stay safe.
Food and Drink Are Also Important.
What your elderly family member eats and drinks matters quite a bit. An unhealthy diet can often mean that your senior is forced to deal with specific health issues much more quickly than she might have had to otherwise. Dehydration is another big problem and because many aging adults don’t enjoy drinking water and experience changes to their thirst urges, it’s unfortunately very common.
Managing Health Conditions.
If your elderly family member is already dealing with health issues, you’re going to need a plan for managing them properly. Work with her doctor to determine what your senior needs now and what she’s likely to need in the future. From there you can find ways to help her to remain as healthy as possible.
Keeping Your Senior Active.
One of the ways you can help your senior to stay healthy is to keep her as active as possible. Your senior’s doctor can help you determine how much activity is enough for your elderly family member. Remember that the more sedentary she is, the more muscle mass she’s likely to lose.
Helping Her Avoid Loneliness.
Isolation and loneliness are big concerns for older adults. People move away or are unable to get out and that can cause your elderly family member to withdraw, too. She may also be dealing with health issues that cause her to want to stay at home more. Elder care providers can help to ensure that your elderly family member has the companionship that she needs, especially when you and other family members aren’t able to be there as much as you want to be.
Many of these situations get easier to manage as you gain experience with caregiving. Part of being a caregiver means adapting to changes as they arise, too. Your senior will experience plenty of changes to her health and also to her goals. Meeting your senior’s needs is easier than you think it might be, especially as a new caregiver.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring elder care in Summit, NJ, call the caring staff at Helping Hands Home Care today at 908-418-4299. Providing Home Care Services in all of Northern and Central NJ, including Clark, Westfield, Cranford, Scotch Plains, Rahway, Linden, Summit, Edison, Elizabeth, Mountainside and the surrounding areas.
After graduating from Seton Hall University with a BS in finance Helping Hands Homecare’s Owner / President, Robert D’Arienzo, went to work on Wall St. for six years. However, after Robert’s grandmother became ill with stomach cancer Robert and his family needed to find assistance in the home for her. After many trials and tribulations Robert could see that there was a great need for quality home care services here in NJ and loved the idea of being able to assist other families who were going through what his family went through with his beloved grandmother.
Thus, Robert had found his passion. After almost a year of preparation Robert opened Helping Hands Homecare in 2003. Robert wanted Helping Hands Homecare to focus on providing the highest quality of caregivers, exceptional customer service, and providing a service that familys could depend on in their time of need. Since then Helping Hands has assisted hundreds of individuals with the simplest of needs to more complex cases while preserving those standards set out many years ago.
Robert is a Google Verified Author
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