Four Things to Do When You Suspect Your Senior Needs More Help

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At some point, your senior is going to need a little more help than she currently needs. Your own intuition will likely start to clue you in before you consciously realize what’s going on. At that point, you need to investigate and start putting a plan together.

Home Care Berkeley Heights NJ - Four Things to Do When You Suspect Your Senior Needs More Help

Home Care Berkeley Heights NJ – Four Things to Do When You Suspect Your Senior Needs More Help

Take Stock of What Your Senior Needs

The first thing to do is to start sorting through what your senior needs. She may be reluctant to help with this at first. That’s why you need to reassure your senior that you’re not trying to take over anything. Your goal at this point is to make sure that she’s got her needs met and until you understand what they are, you’re not going to be able to do that. If she’s willing to cooperate, this is going to give you the best chance of helping her in the ways she truly needs that help.

Decide What You’re Able to Do

Once you understand what your senior needs you can start putting plans in place. What and how much can you do for your senior? There may be quite a bit that you can do, but there may be more that you’re unable to do. It’s vital that you understand which is which so that you can do what you can reasonably do. Your own health is a big factor in this question. You’ll also need to consider whether you have other obligations and responsibilities that might pull you away from seeing to your senior’s needs.

Find Solutions for Filling in the Missing Spots

As you identify those gaps in what you’re able to do for your senior, you also have to identify possible solutions. That might mean that home care providers are the right answer for your senior’s situation. Your elderly family member still needs help, but there’s nothing that says that you’re the only person who can provide that assistance. Home care services are able to be there a little or a lot, depending on what you and your senior need.

Make Sure Your Senior Is Involved

It’s really important that you keep your senior involved as much as you can with these types of decisions. This can be part of what helps your elderly family member to feel more confident in allowing you to make these decisions for her. If she knows that she can count on you to keep her in the loop, that’s going to help her to feel like she’s part of the process rather than just a problem you have to solve.

Your senior’s needs are going to change over time and as her health changes. You might need to go through this process with her more than once to ensure you’re still keeping up with the help she needs.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Home Care Services in Berkeley Heights NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.

Susan Myer, RN, BSN, CCRN, CDP