What Concerns Should You Have With Your Mom Aging at Home?
AARP’s “What is Livable?” survey found that 87 percent of adults 65 or older want to age in place. They don’t want to move to a new home. It’s very likely that your mom feels that way.
While she has her plans, you are still on the fence. Aging in place is possible, but you should go over the common concerns and solutions to them.
Senior Care Drexel Hill PA – What Concerns Should You Have With Your Mom Aging at Home?
Consider Her Security
Some communities are safer than others. In areas with more burglaries, you should consider your mom’s safety. There are a few things you can do to help improve her home’s security.
Get a mannequin and put it on a sofa in front of a TV. It will eliminate the appearance that your mom is alone.
Video doorbells are ideal for security. If someone comes to your mom’s door, you get an alert and can talk to the person outside. Security cameras inside also help you make sure your mom hasn’t fallen and is out of bed each morning. If something seems amiss, you can call a neighbor or police to do a welfare check.
How Safe is Her Home?
Falls are one of the biggest risks when a senior lives alone. If your mom falls, it may be days or weeks before anyone stops by to visit. If she’s fallen and can’t reach a phone, would she be lying there helpless?
Medic alert systems that have fall detection are vital when your mom lives alone. If she falls, the sensor triggers and calls the medic alert company. They can try to call her and alert EMTs if she doesn’t respond or says she needs help.
Medication Management is Something to Consider
Many seniors start taking medications for chronic conditions like high blood pressure, dementia, diabetes, and arthritis pain. Is your mom likely to remember if she’s taken her daily pill? If not, would a prescription organizer help her manage her daily medications?
The other thing to consider is her prescription refills. If she’s not on an automated refill service, she’ll need to remember to order refills. She also needs to get to the pharmacy to pick them up.
Does She Have Transportation?
If your mom lives outside a city, it’s unlikely she’ll be able to walk to area stores, senior centers, and restaurants. She’ll need to be able to drive. What if she can’t? Have you considered how she would get to appointments, run errands, or visit friends?
As mobility and health changes, keep up with your mom’s changing needs. Senior care services can come to her home and help her with medication management, appointments, housework, and meals. Call our senior care agent today to talk about all of the senior care services available to her.
Sources: https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/info-2014/livable-communities-facts-and-figures.html
If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Care Services in Drexel Hill PA, please contact the caring staff at True Direct Home Health Care today.
Doc, as he is called by everyone - staff, patients and clients - first experienced home health care and hospice care while as a colleg student at King's College as he cared for his mother every day while she first battled COPD and then lung cancer. It was during this time that he came to understand that caring for a patient was more than just clinical expertise.
"Admittedly, my strongest attribute is my communication skills and the simple fact that I love to help people. Even the smallest thing you can do for someone really can mean so much to them long term. In fact, it could change them forever. That's what providing quality personal home health care should be all about."
In his spare time, he cooks for homeless shelters and children's music and arts events. He also is highly involved in his local youth sports soccer academy as a coach and Board member.
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