It’s incredibly difficult for long-distance family caregivers to feel as if they’re doing all the things that could or should be doing for the seniors they love. Finding ways to check in with the seniors they’re caring for is something that can help them to feel as if they’re doing more. It also helps them share with seniors just how much they care about them. Home care services can offer help with some of these issues, while also offering hands-on help to seniors and updates to family caregivers.
Schedule Regular Phone or Video Calls
Having a regular schedule for phone or video calls establishes a great routine for seniors. It also helps family caregivers make sure that they’re touching base with seniors at a set interval. Video-calling technology is readily available now, making it easier for seniors and loved ones to stay connected. Home care providers can help seniors to remember when these calls are happening, but they can also be on hand for minor technical assistance.
Collaborate with Home Care Providers
When long-distance family caregivers can’t be there in person, it can feel as if they don’t have any good answers. Home care services offer personalized assistance to aging adults in their own homes. They help seniors to eat healthy meals, have clean homes, and receive assistance with personal care tasks, too. Home care providers can also keep family caregivers informed about what’s happening so that they can make the best possible decisions for the seniors they love.
One of the crucial benefits of home care is that someone is physically with your loved one on a regular basis. Changes in a senior’s regular routine, mobility, or overall health can be hard to detect without visiting with a senior in person. Home care can fill that role for long-distance caregivers.
Send Care Packages and Hand-written Notes
Technology is great, but it is also a lot of fun to receive hand-written notes and letters or care packages. This is another way that long-distance family caregivers can reach out and show seniors they’re thinking of them and they care. These notes, letters, and packages don’t have to be big, either. Small, thoughtful experiences bring a lot of comfort and joy.
Try to Visit as Much as Possible
Managing care from far away is possible, but that doesn’t mean that long-distance family caregivers shouldn’t worry about visits. Distance can cause problems with travel, and family caregivers may only be able to visit once or twice a year, but those visits matter. That is a time when family caregivers are able to see for themselves how their seniors are doing and how they can help even when they go back home.
Involve Family and Friends
If there are other family members and friends who live close to the senior, they might be able to step in more often and either help or just visit. It can be really helpful for seniors to see the people they love more often. Planning visits thoughtfully is something that home care providers can also help manage.
There’s a lot involved in being a family caregiver, no matter how far away the senior receiving care lives. Family caregivers need to stay on top of the senior’s care plan and home care services help make this easier. The things that family caregivers do don’t need to be big gestures. Just reaching out and listening helps seniors feel heard and loved.
Reference
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/long-distance-caregiving
If you or an aging loved one are considering home care in Portsmouth, NH, please contact the caring staff at Assisting Hands Home Care – Seacoast NH today! 603-824-8200
Assisting Hands Home Care – Seacoast NH provides exceptional home in Portsmouth, Rye, New Castle, North Hampton, Hampton, Stratham, Exeter, Durham, Dover, Seabrook, Greenland, Rochester, Hampton Falls and surrounding areas.
