Eight Tips for Staying Close While Being a Long-distance Family Caregiver
Family caregivers who don’t live near their aging adults may find it a lot more difficult than they expect to stay on top of what’s happening with their seniors. Staying informed as a long-distance caregiver means putting a few important foundational elements in place. Senior home care is a huge part of that plan.
Talk Often
Communicating often and effectively with seniors is a big part of making long-distance caregiving work. Family caregivers can tell a lot about how their seniors are doing just by paying attention to tone of voice and other variables that might not seem obvious to others. Ask how they’re doing and keep them involved in big decisions.
Create a Solid Care Plan
Work with seniors to determine their needs and to put that into a strong care plan. Understanding what seniors need helps to find answers that meet those needs. Talk with healthcare professionals as well and determine if there are other solutions that seniors need in order to be as safe as possible.
Use Technology to Help
Video calls and other technology can be a huge help for long-distance caregivers. Fitness trackers, medication management systems, and lots of other different technologies are all there to keep family caregivers informed and to make life easier for seniors, too. Elder care providers can help seniors to set up these technologies and keep tabs on how well they’re working.
Try to Visit
It isn’t easy, but visiting in person is important. Visiting when they can allows long-distance caregivers to get an in-person idea how things are going. Try to avoid making the visit all about “business,” however. Spend quality time together and make time for fun, too.
Get Local Help
As much as aging adults might not want to have someone else helping out, senior home care providers really do offer the hands-on help that long-distance caregivers might wish they could be there to offer themselves. Caregivers can also help to keep everyone involved on the same page about what is happening. Long-distance caregivers can feel a lot of peace of mind when they know for sure what is really going on.
Stay Involved in What’s Going On
Keeping up with medical and health changes is also crucial. Seniors may not want to burden long-distance caregivers with changes when they’re not feeling well. But it’s important to know when those changes are happening in case other solutions might help better.
Prioritize Self-care as Much as Possible
Long-distance caregiving is not easy. And if time zones are far apart, that can make things even more difficult. Instead of burning the candle at both ends, long-distance caregivers need to make sure that they’re taking the best possible care of themselves. Focusing on putting a solid care plan and help into place can help to make this possible.
Stay Flexible
Lots of things change when it comes to caregiving and those changes can happen in the blink of an eye. Long-distance caregivers often need to be as flexible as possible so that they can weather those changes with grace.
Long-distance caregiving doesn’t have to be frustrating for everyone involved. Bringing in senior home care and the right supportive tools can help make the situation easier.
If you are considering senior home care in Las Vegas, NV for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.