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Caring for aging parents may
be easier and a lot less traumatic than you think with advice
from the experts. Here are some tips from the MetLife Mature
Market Institute®, on what to do when your parents need care
and they’re far away:
Before the need arises, it’s
a good idea to talk with your parents. Make suggestions but avoid
dictating.
- Know your parent’s health
history, current medications and names of doctors and hospitals.
- Know where the important legal
papers are located. Ask if they have a will, a living will and
durable power of attorney. Know their attorney’s name and
phone number.
- Do they have long-term care
insurance? Where is the policy located? What does it cover?
- Do they have the financial resources
to obtain in-home care or nursing home care, should the need
arise?
- Learn what resources may be
available. Align with local support systems before problems arise.
The town senior center may be one source of information.
- Visit assisted living and nursing
home facilities in your parents’ area and in your area,
should it become necessary to move your parents.
- Depending on the situation,
you may find it appropriate to apply for a facility and place
your parents on a waiting list.
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- You may want to consider obtaining
a geriatric care manager. Retaining a care manager does not imply
a lack of compassion—having to manage work, home and family
is difficult for all caregivers.
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For a fee, care managers help
to ensure that all facets of a loved one’s care are addressed.
Contact the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care
Managers for a list of qualified managers, at www.caremanager.org or call 520-881-8008.
- Call the Eldercare Locator at
800-677-1116, 9am to 8pm ET. They will provide you with the phone
numbers for your state’s Department on Aging and your local
area agency on aging. You can find them online at www.eldercare.gov.
- National Organizations—AARP
offers a large variety of resources and information online at
www.aarp.org
or phone 800-424-3410.
- Homecare agencies—the National
Association for Home Care can assist with location of homecare
agencies in your parents’ area. Find them on the Web at
www.nahc.org
or call 202-547-7424.
You can never be 100 percent
prepared for any caregiving situation, but organizing and researching
eldercare information and resources prior to the situation will
give you peace of mind.
The MetLife Mature Market Institute
and the National Alliance for Caregiving have compiled a publication,
Resources for Caregivers. |
