If your senior loved one is given the choice between aging well and enjoying the golden years full of energy and exuberance or aging poorly and experiencing health issues that prevent him or her from fully enjoying the later years of life, your loved one would most likely choose healthy aging. In fact, your loved one is probably already taking steps to ensure he or she ages well by eating right, exercising regularly, and scheduling routine checkups and screenings with the doctor. However, even doing all the right things doesn’t always prevent issues from arising. Below are some tips for creating a contingency plan that ensures your loved one is prepared for those possible challenges along the way.
1. Perform an Annual Home Safety Review
Certain areas of the home can become hazardous as your loved one ages. For example, bathtubs, stairs, and kitchen appliances may require some updates to ensure safety down the road. Although some of these changes may seem premature right now, performing an annual home safety review will ensure you’re prepared if there are any changes in your loved one’s health or mobility.
Many older adults are choosing to age in place, and some need a helping hand to continue living at home safely and comfortably. Luckily, there is professional elder care seniors can trust and rely on.
2. Increase Strength & Balance
Falls can be detrimental to older adults, as they can lead to serious disability, health problems, and even death. Taking the necessary precautions to prevent falls is extremely important, but so is exercise. Increasing strength and balance can ensure your loved one recovers faster if he or she experiences a fall.
3. Explore Care Options
Where does your loved one hope to live as he or she ages? With advancing age often comes the need to seek additional assistance from outside sources. If remaining at home is important to your loved one, reviewing in-home care options ahead of time and developing a plan of action with other family members will make the decision process much easier for everyone.
4. Plan Ahead
At some point, household chores, meal preparation, transportation, and home repairs will become challenging, and your loved one will need to seek assistance. These tasks can be hired out to a reputable home care agency or shared among family and friends. Explore your options and make a plan for when assistance becomes necessary.
If your aging loved one needs occasional help with bathing, grooming, cooking, or other basic household tasks, or if you need time to attend to important personal matters, reach out to Assisting Hands Home Care, a leading provider of respite care. Pearland seniors can maintain their independence while living at home with the help of our reliable home caregivers.
5. Create an Emergency Plan
In the event of an emergency, who would your loved one call? What would your loved one do if he or she fell and was unable to call for help? Does your loved one have a caregiver, family member, or neighbor who can regularly check in on him or her? These are important questions that should be addressed when planning for emergencies. Also, make sure emergency phone numbers are clearly visible near your loved one’s home phone and programmed into his or her smartphone, and consider investing in a personal alarm system.
6. Draft Advance Care Directives
An advance health care directive, also known as a living will, is a set of written instructions that specify what medical actions should be taken in the event a senior is unable to make decisions due to illness or incapacity. All aging adults should have advance care directives in place.
One of the most challenging tasks of helping an elderly relative age in place safely and comfortably is researching agencies that provide home care. Pearland families can turn to Assisting Hands Home Care for reliable, high-quality in-home care for aging adults. We offer 24-hour care for seniors who require extensive assistance, and we also offer respite care for family caregivers who need a break from their caregiving duties. Call Assisting Hands Home Care today to learn about our high-quality in-home care services.
