Family caregiving is one of those roles you might not have pictured yourself taking on until it happened. Now, you’ve got to figure out exactly how to manage your new duties while somehow avoiding burnout. A caregiver’s toolkit should include these elements that make it possible to handle everything without being overwhelmed.
Effective Filing System
Helping out your senior loved one often means being responsible for a lot of his or her information. Scheduling your loved one’s medical appointments will be easier when you have his or her health history in one place. You’ll also find it easier to do your job when you can quickly pull up contact information and special documents. Whether you use a traditional paper-based filing system or go electronic, creating a dedicated space for your loved one’s essential information can prevent stress.
Medication Management Plan
You’ve got several options for managing your loved one’s medication, and they’re all effective at preventing mishaps. You can choose a paper log that allows everyone to write down when medicine is taken, or you can use an automated dispenser that logs each dose. Either way, you’ll feel better being able to check when and how your loved one took his or her medication.
In Huntsville, home care providers can benefit aging adults in a variety of ways. From cooking nutritious meals to offering timely medication reminders, the dedicated caregivers at Home Care Assistance are available to help your elderly loved one 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Accommodations for More Independence
Both you and your loved one benefit when he or she does as much as possible independently. Perform a home assessment, and make the necessary accommodations to keep your loved one safe while handling his or her daily routine. Installing grab bars in the bathroom can prevent injuries, and you’ll save your back when you only have to provide a little bit of additional support.
Living independently is important for seniors who want to maintain a high quality of life. For some, this simply means receiving help with tasks that have become more challenging to manage over time. Even when families have the best intentions, they may not have the time to provide the care their elderly loved ones need and deserve. If your loved one needs help for a few hours a day or a few days a week, reach out to Home Care Assistance, a trusted provider of respite care Huntsville seniors can depend on.
Shared CalendarÂ
Hopefully, you won’t be the only one helping your loved one. Creating a shared calendar makes it easy to communicate sudden or unexpected schedule changes. You can also send reminders to everyone about upcoming appointments and fill everyone in on what happened with notes. Electronic calendars work best for sharing information as it comes in, but you can also use a wall calendar everyone can see.
Positive Communication Skills
You’ll be having some difficult conversations as a caregiver, and most people can benefit from learning how to communicate clear boundaries and tackle tough topics. You can practice your communication skills in counseling or read up on the best techniques for talking to other people. You’ll be glad you did if you ever have to advocate for your loved one during a doctor’s appointment or stand up to a well-meaning sibling who offers unwanted advice.
Support Network
Self-care is only possible when you make it nonnegotiable. If you don’t have a regular caregiver set up to provide respite care, find one. This makes it possible for you to keep your own healthcare appointments if your loved one gets sick, and you also need time to rest to keep up with your duties. The ideal support network has at least three people you can turn to for emergency help along with one or two regular alternative caregivers who give you frequent breaks.
Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of elderly home care. You can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide an individualized care plan to meet your elderly loved one’s unique care needs. Our holistic Balanced Care Method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits, such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia. To learn about our revolutionary in-home care plans, call us at (256) 716-9940 today.