Caring for Your Grandparents at Home

Taking care of elderly parents at home is often the best way to save costs and more importantly, provide quality care. That may mean you manage services and environment at their own home, or you may actually take them into your own house. Many of the care issues are the same for both environments.

Your first task is to get your grandparent evaluated for physical and mental problems. Some heath issues can be masked by others, or combined with others to increase their distress and the job ahead of you. Find out what treatments and medications they are using now, and if they need to be modified for a home health care environment. A social worker’s evaluation may be necessary to assist you in getting Medicaid or insurance companies to pay for in-house nursing aides.

The next analysis should be to gather specifics about their financial situation. Caretakers need to know what cash, investments and insurances are available to pay for supplies and services. You may or may not be taking control with a power of attorney, but you need to ask your relative what resources they have available for payment.

Next prepare the home they’ll be living in to be safe and accessible for your grandparent. Remove flimsy furniture, loose rugs or other obstacles that could hamper their movement or even injure them. Support bars in the bathroom, access for wheelchairs and walkers, and self-closing hinges on doors and cupboards will make sure that they are able to do things for themselves.

A large portion of your grandparent’s needs will be personal. Items like laundry, bathing, and diapers may remind you of when they raised you or your parents, but now they’ll need you to help them with the same needs. Ask the experts at in home care Los Angeles for more tips.

Home life also consists of setting limits and areas of responsibility for your grandparents. Sit down with them and get agreement on who’s running the thermostat, which is responsible for keeping areas clean, and what the ramifications of failure area.

Arrange for their transportation needs, as they’ll have medical appointments more often than you’ll expect. Also arrange outside activities for them to travel to, as it will be good for them, and allow you some stress relief as well. There are health benefits as well for your grandparent when you get them out into groups for social interaction.

Organize their food and medical needs to simplify life for them and yourself. Your grandparents probably have a small selection of foods that they really enjoy, so you do not have to construct complex menus to keep them happy. Arrange their medications in daily dispenser containers, and keep good records of what they’re taking for future medical service providers.

Also be sure to perform self-examinations of your mental and physical health on occasion. Your grandparents rely on you performing at your best, so don’t let stress or other complications compromise your health and their care. If certain tasks are too overwhelming for you, get outside professional help or ask relatives to assist. Visit your In Home Care Los Angeles for more care tips.