Quick and easy answers to questions on taking care of your elderly parents or a loved one.
After reading this article you will have tips on how to approach the care of your elderly parent or loved one. Our goal through Vessels of Healing Hands is to assist you with organizing your thoughts and plans to structure the care of your aging loved one.
Below you can click on any question to go straight to that answer.
What are the basic ways of caring for the elderly at home?
What are the things that the elderly need help with the most?
3 broad categories of everyday problems that elderly people face?
What do seniors worry about the most?
What are the most common struggles that seniors face?
How can I Improve their quality of life, and make life easier?
What makes elderly people happy?
What are products that elderly people find incredibly useful?
How can Vessels of Healing Hands Help?
What are the basic ways of caring for the elderly at home?
Maintain a routine or structured environment-creates a framework of stability. Adapting to change is challenging for the elderly.
- Create a safe environment.
Identify physical hazards or potential fall risk, protect against psychological/emotional guilt, monitor for anxiety/depression, and prevent fraud.
- Cultivate social engagements.
Conversations,activities,and outings allow for connectivity and a sense of belonging.
- Monitor sleep/eating habits.
Changes in these habits can provide clues to psychological and/or medical concerns.
- Develop a trusted team.
Caring for an elderly parent is tough to do in isolation. As we know it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to care for an elderly parent. Ask for help from siblings, neighbors, community / church members or professional medical personnel. *Review short and long-term financial plans with a trusted source. Develop and periodically reassess a financial plan to support ongoing care.
13 Key Points in Elder Care.
- Learn and understand loved ones patterns or routines.
- Empathize with your loved one.
- Call them regularly.
- Create opportunities to encourage other family members to share in the care.
- Anticipate potential problems and solutions.
- Advocate for your loved one.
- Encourage your loved one to stay active and engaged.
- Help them downsize without being bossy.
- Help them create a memory book.
- Find a way to provide easy-ready meals.
- Make the home safe and accessible.
- Take care of yourself.
- Enlist helpers or aides early
What are the things that the elderly need help with the most?
- Mobility
- Medications
- Driving / Transportation
- Personal Care
- Nutrition
- Purposeful/engaging activities
3 broad categories of everyday problems that elderly people face?
- Physical challenges
- Cognitive challenges
- Emotional challenges
What do seniors worry about the most?
Loss of memory/high level executive function and the onset of dementia
Sickness
Loneliness
Poverty becoming homeless
Loss of independence / personal dignity
Loss of family members and or dying in general
Our priority is your health
What are the most common struggles that seniors face?
Falls
Pain
Urinary Incontinence
Isolation / loneliness
Memory loss
Anxiety / Depression / Guilt
Polypharmacy (Taking Multiple Medications)
How can I Improve the quality and make life easier for my aging loved one?
Monitor and treat depression. Millions of seniors age 65+ are affected by depression.
Remind Seniors That They Are Useful and Needed. People of all ages want to feel needed.
- Encourage physical activity.
- Encourage mental activity.
- Keep them connected.
What makes elderly people happy?
Older adults who focus on what they can do and the meaningful connections that they have can help break any cycle of negativity. Focusing on gratitude is rewarding rather than focusing on any decline in abilities. According to a study in “The Gerontologist”, accepting aging and adapting to age-related changes is vital to successful aging and well-being.
Social interaction. The knowledge that they are not alone and the ongoing affirmation that they are loved helps to make them happy.
No matter your religion or your parent’s religion, praying with them can have miraculous effects on elderly recovery. It has been shown to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other memory loss and/or cognitive issues. Prayer lowers stress and anxiety levels and reduces depression symptoms. Prayer strengthens one’s will to live, which can give older, ailing parents the strength they need to fight illness or other issues.
What are products that elderly people find incredibly useful?
As activities of daily living (ADLs) become more challenging, assistive devices may be used to extend a senior’s independence. You can evaluate the current living environment to assess if any of the following items could be used to make a senior’s home safer and more accessible. Personal Alert System (a wearable electronic device designed to summon help in an emergency)
- Toilet seat riser
- Bidet attachment for toilet
- Grab bars for the bathroom near the toilet and shower
- Hand-held shower head
- Bathtub/shower transfer bench
- Stepless/walk-in bathtub or shower
- Adjustable bed
- Waterproof mattress/mattress pads
- Over-bed table
- Disposable incontinence under pads (sometimes referred to as “chucks”)
- Bed railings
- Adequate lighting throughout the home, including night lights
- Button hook and zipper pulls for easier dressing
- Adaptive clothing and shoesTouch-tone telephones with large buttons, speaker or hands-free capabilities, and/ortext capability for those who are deaf or hard of hearing(TTY or TDD)
- Talking clocks and wristwatches for seniors with poor vision
- Medication organizer/alarmed dispenser/or “bubble packs”
- Low vision aids to assist with reading and other activities
- Kitchen tools that make opening cans and jars, peeling vegetables, and cutting and dicing ingredients easier and safer Specialized eating utensils and dinnerware for easier dining
- Automatic shut-off safety devices for kitchen appliances
- “Reacher/grabber” tools for seniors who have weak grip strength and/or limited mobility
- Ramps for entryways with steps
- Stairlifts for multi-story homes
- Sturdy railings along all stairways
- Mobility aids for seniors who have difficulty getting around the house (e.g. cane, walker, wheelchair, motorized scooter)
- Baskets or other accessories for mobility equipment to assist in carrying items
- Lift chairs for those who have difficulty getting in and out of a seated position
How can Vessels of Healing Hands Help?
It is our goal at Vessels of HealingHands to help patients and loved ones with challenging aspects of planning and implementing coordinated medical care. We partner with you and your healthcare team to navigate challenging situations.
Contact us to find out how Vessels of Healing Hands can help!
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