What Can You Do to Be a Better Long-Distance Caregiver?
Being a long-distance caregiver is far from easy, but it’s definitely possible. And if you’ve got all your bases covered, you can be a really efficient family caregiver even from afar.
Senior Care in Lowell MI: Long-Distance Caregiving
Get Yourself Organized.
If you’re a generally disorganized person, long-distance caregiving is going to be painful. Do yourself a favor and get yourself a large three-ring binder and some tabs. This allows you to keep everything you need in one place. The more you can organize the paperwork and information that you and your elderly family member need the better for everyone involved.
Set up a Network of People Who Can Help.
You need to have people on the ground where your aging family member is for the best results. That might mean that even though you’re the primary family caregiver, other family members are pitching in. it might also mean that you hire senior care providers who can give you an experienced opinion about what is happening with your aging adult’s situation.
Have an Emergency Plan.
At some point, you’re probably going to have to leave in a hurry to get to your elderly family member. That means you need an emergency plan for travel, where you’ll stay, and what else happens once you’re there. Take the time to set up as much of this plan as you can now so that you have less to do in an emergency.
Have a Backup Emergency Plan.
If life teaches us anything, it’s that having a backup plan for a backup plan can be one of the smartest things that you ever do. Your emergency plan might be to fly wherever your elderly family member is. But what if it’s winter and the weather is terrible? You still need to get to your elderly family member, but you might need to do it a different way.
Is it Time to Relocate?
You may find yourself asking at some point if it’s time for you or for your elderly family member to relocate. Talk with your senior about how she feels about this topic and what she wants. Be honest about what you can do and what your life demands from you. It might mean that you both need to make a compromise of sorts.
The more prepared you are as a long-distance caregiver the better things will go for both you and for your aging adult. Remember that you can’t plan for everything, but you can certainly plan for a lot.
If you or someone you know needs help with senior care in Lowell, MI, contact Gauthier Family Home Care. We provide quality and affordable home care services in our community. Call us at (616) 258-2300 for more information.
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