Tips For Long Distance Care Giving
Tips For Long Distance Care Giving
Tips For Long Distance Care Giving
If your loved one is especially proud, they will not mention all of the difficulties they are having, the falls they have experienced and the way that their situation is deteriorating. They may not want to be a bother or a burden to you, and this will make it especially difficult for you to look after them properly.
To do this, you need to follow your intuition and, if you feel they need help, provide it for them.
Having them re-locate, or you re-locating to them, is not always practical. But there are steps that you can take to make sure that they are cared for properly. We are going to dismiss the obvious ones for the moment (asking for help from family and friends local to them) and look to how you can make sure they are taken care of at a distance.
Your first step is to contact the local Office of the Aging in the area your loved one is in. Before calling, we suggest that you look at their website first for some familiarity with the services they provide. You can then tailor the conversation to your loved one's individual needs.
As an example, in my area, the website for the Office of the Aging for Suffolk County, New York, shows a 'Programs and Services' section which is a nineteen page listing of all of the services that are available to seniors and their care givers, free of charge. These services include:
Benefit counseling
Senior day care
Home Energy Assistance
Legal Assistance
Nutritional Assistance
Ombudsman services
Free transportation services
Prescription Drug Assistance
There are a wealth of services available, and as a long-distance care giver, finding out what the services are that are available in the local area of your loved one will be priceless for your peace of mind. Plus, the local Office of the Aging may have knowledge of local charities, such as Meals-On-Wheels and the Lions Club, who can provide assistance with meal delivery, free dental care, lawyers that give pro-bono legal advice, obtaining free glasses or free hearing aids. Also, see if there are any 'Elder Watch' programs available where volunteers periodically check up on seniors that live alone.
Next, contact the local Postmaster in the town your loved one lives in. Ask the Postmaster to speak to the letter carrier(s) that handle the mail for your loved one, just to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. As an example, if the mail isn't being picked up several days in a row, ask them to contact you so that you can investigate the situation. Letter carriers are happy to assist in this effort.
NOTE: The Post Office is open six days a week. This means at least one day a week the route will be handled by a substitute driver. They will need to insert a comment card into their sorting system so that all drivers are aware of this situation.
You should also call the local police department and ask them if it would be possible for the officers assigned to their sectors to check up on them periodically, especially during bad weather, blizzards and heat waves.
Mark Bowman is the President of JayMark-LLC.com, specializing in certification of pre-owned office equipment since 2003. With our ability to ship and service any machine nationwide, our customer service is unmatched and our prices cannot be beaten.
For more information, go tohttp://www.JayMark-LLC.com or email him directly atmark@jaymark-llc.com
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