5 Services and Tools to Help Care for Seniors While Social-Distancing

We all want to spend more time with aging parents and loved ones. So, when forces outside of your control force you to keep your distance, you may feel afraid, anxious, and guilty. While these feelings are completely normal, you should know that distance doesn’t have to mean sacrificing care or connection for your loved one. It just means you may have to get creative to ensure that your senior feels safe, loved, and protected.

 

 

Smartphones

One device that every senior should have is a user-friendly and reliable smartphone. You can find senior-friendly cell phones that will work with most carriers. Look for smartphones that are designed to be more accessible and efficient for seniors, with larger displays, durable screens, and long-lasting battery life. That way you won’t have to worry about your loved one dropping their phone or forgetting to charge it throughout the day. If you prefer iPhones, you can also use accessibility settings to make their phone easier to use. A smartphone can help keep seniors connected to loved ones and essential services during the pandemic.

 

Parental Controls

If you add your senior’s phone to your existing wireless plan, you may be able to take advantage of parental controls that can make keeping track of your loved one’s whereabouts and activities effortless. Some carriers provide these services for free, while others require a monthly subscription fee. Fees are typically affordable but check in with your provider to see if there are any specials or discounts that can help keep your bill low. If you want even more insight into your loved one’s health and well-being, you can also consider senior location or activity trackers. Then you can ensure your loved one is staying active while protecting him/her from wandering.

 

Smart Speakers

Another device you can use to stay connected to your elderly loved one is a smart speaker. In fact, many seniors have found Google’s smart speaker to be a welcome companion in self-isolation. A smart speaker will allow seniors to search the web, get help at home, and even find entertainment. With the speaker connected to a smartphone, your loved one can also receive and answer calls from you and other family members. Another perk of picking up a smart speaker for your senior, especially one with a display, is that they can find and follow along with recipes, which can ensure that your loved one eats healthy while at home.

 

Delivery Services

If you need to make sure that your loved one has ingredients for those healthy recipes, grocery delivery services from stores like Costco could be an option. Currently, Costco is offering these helpful services in most metropolitan locations, and some customers may even be able to take advantage of same-day services for fresh grocery orders of $35 or more. Your loved one can order delivery from their smartphone, or you can set up deliveries from afar. To protect your family member, just be sure to request contactless delivery of goods from service providers.

 

Video Doorbells

Your loved one will need to know when their groceries are delivered and having a video doorbell can make this much easier. The best video doorbells come with a variety of options, including facial recognition and voice communication services that can provide comfort and peace of mind to older folks who live alone. With a video doorbell, you and your loved one will know exactly when deliveries arrive and exactly who is coming to the front door. Installation for many of these doorbells is simple as well, but if you need to arrange for a professional installation, be sure to take the proper precautions to protect your senior family member from COVID-19 exposure.

While staying away from aging loved ones may seem cruel, it’s really the best way to protect them from the potentially deadly coronavirus. So, know that keeping your distance is the most compassionate thing you can do right now. Also know that there are services and tech tools you can use to connect with and care for your elderly relatives.

Photo Credit: Rawpixel

Claire Wentz: Claire, a former nurse, writes for caregivers who don’t live near their loved ones. Her hope is that her writing will inform them, uplift them, and give them peace of mind when they need it. Caringfromafar.com


Thanks Claire!

For more information about caring for your aging parents, please consider downloading my course, Caring for Your Aging Parents, from Teachable.com. It takes a couple of hours, and you can just hit play and listen while you go about other business.

Helping Your Senior Parent Downsize From a Distance

By Clair Wentz

Life has a way of separating loved ones, and this often is true of adult children and their parents. Distance often makes the heart grow fonder, but it does not make helping a senior accept downsizing any easier. However, adult children should help their aging parents take the steps necessary to move into the final stages of life in any way they can. Whether this means assisting them as they move into a senior retirement community or simply a smaller space, distance does not have to mean helplessness.

photo from Pixabay

If You Can, Make an Appearance

Family obligations and preferences pertaining to quality of life are just two of the reasons why adult children may live far from their parents. While living near your elderly parent is ideal, it is not always going to be an option. Still, if your parent is facing a move, it is nice to take a trip to provide emotional support while explaining to him or her, in person, why it will be better.

If you are planning to move your parents into a smaller space, explain the financial benefits that they, their children, and their grandchildren may eventually see from such a wise move. This may seem like a selfish approach, but explaining that money saved could also go toward reasonable travel and other hobbies will make it clear that it is not all about you. Downsizing will minimize the stress that an aging loved one may feel to maintain an unreasonably large property.

Taking Care of Business from Afar

If you and your parent decide that life in a senior living facility is more suitable, many of the responsibilities of caregiving will be taken care of by a staff of professionals. Many senior living communities will handle daily care and provide necessary rehab and even potentially memory-strengthening services.

For those whose parent is merely downsizing, hiring a regular caretaker is recommended. Senior Directory explains that many elderly adults can live independently, but having a caregiver who pops in a few times a week is always a good idea. Family Caregiver Alliance provides advice on how to make a decision regarding the necessity of an in-home caregiver.

Regardless of having an in-home caregiver, there are several tasks which adult children can take care of to support and care for their parent. A Place for Mom suggests that long-distance caregivers remain in tune with their loved one’s condition, staying in regular contact through phone calls.

Organize Documents and Finances

In addition, a long-distance caregiver can keep documents organized that pertain to the senior’s health and other affairs, including finances. Speaking of finances, paying medical bills is another duty that a senior should not have to worry about. If they have a Medicare plan that helps cover their bills, the duty of paying attention to any changes in their plan should fall on both you and your loved one so that you don’t learn the hard way that something you thought would be covered no longer is. There are great online resources that can keep you both in the know about these changes, walk you through the process of enrolling for or updating a plan, and for learning what is offered in their state. Coordinating appointments when necessary is another way care can be given, even from far away.

While it may seem that living hours or even states away from an elderly loved one ties the hands of a caregiver, this is not the case. There is plenty that caregivers, often adult children, can do to aid an aging loved one. This long-distance care takes many forms, whether it means providing emotional support via communication or taking care of the many administrative tasks a senior is rarely capable or willing to do on his or her own. Taking care of some of these duties should help ease the burden that distance imposes on an adult hoping to help care for a senior parent.

Claire Wentz is creator of caringfromafar.com and author of the upcoming book, Caring from Afar: A Comprehensive Guide for Long-Distance Senior Caregivers. Claire is a former home health nurse and recognizes that our aging population means many more people will become senior caregivers over the years. Specifically, she is interested in providing assistance and support to those caregivers who do not live near their loved ones. She hopes her writing will inform them, uplift them, and give them peace of mind when they need it.

Thanks Claire!