More than six million older adults need long-term care. Of these people, about three out of every ten need help with at least three activities of daily living. Long-term care is important to talk about, yet many families ignore the topic until the need for Senior Home Care appears.
During November’s National Long-Term Care Awareness Month, sit down with your parents and talk about what long-term care is and why they could well need it in the months or years to come. They may even benefit from caregivers now. You need to start asking these questions.
Can a Family Member Help Out As Much As Needed?
Senior Home Care South Windsor, CT: Long-Term Care Awareness Month
Your parents probably believe that they’ll never need to play for long-term care because their family members will take care of them. While this is the most common belief, you need to discuss the realities.
What would a family caregiver have to give up? If no one has retired, your parents would be asking a child or grandchild to quit a job or reduce their work hours to provide the needed care. That could lead to a loss of retirement income and essential benefits like health and dental insurance. Do your parents have the disposable income to pay a livable wage to a family member who is asked to give up their career?
The other consideration is if the family member your parents want to rely on has children at home. Are they considering how this will affect children dependent on their mom or dad to be home to help with homework and meals? Would the family caregiver have to give up appearances at extracurricular activities and important events?
How Is Their Health?
Your parents may feel that they’re the perfect picture of health. They’d never need long-term care services if they’re healthy. Your parents need to realize that some health conditions are impossible to predict in advance.
Your dad walks daily, eats a balanced diet, yet his doctor tells him he has cancer. Your mom could appear to be healthy and suffer a stroke one day. It’s impossible to know for sure how their health will be in the months and years to follow.
By talking about Senior Home Care in advance, you and your parents have goals in mind. You know if they need help, what their goals are. When you take time to plan, you can figure out if you could balance having senior home care aides and family caregivers working together to provide the best care for your parents.
By having a plan in place, it helps ease stress if an emergency occurs, and caregivers become part of the care plan. Call an agency to learn more.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering senior home care in South Windsor, CT please contact the caring staff at Happy Home Care LLC today. (860) 709-1072
Sources:
https://www.caregiver.org/resource/selected-long-term-care-statistics/
