Look for Any Changes
On your holiday visits this year, pay close attention to your parents and elderly family.
- Is Dad watching too much TV?
- Is Mom not baking her traditional sweet potato pie?
- Have they recently lost weight due to uncooked or forgotten meals?
If the normally neat and tidy home is becoming a messy and disorganized, there might be a problem. If you notice memory problems or physical unsteadiness, these are also areas of concern. Finding out that your parents need some extra help for their own safety can indeed be a very tough conversation to have with them.
But you need to have the courage to do it. Coming up with a game plan will make any new transitions easier makes every one more focused.
4 Senior Care Preparation Tips
- Assess your parents’ needs first. Find out through information from their doctors’ visits how challenging any mental and physical limitations might be. Living in their current home may not be an option in 2013. At Your Next Move we can help you navigate the process of finding maintenance-free senior care housing.
- Do a check at www.BenefitsCheckUp.org to discover what benefits, discounts and programs your parents might be eligible for based on their age and background. You might be surprised to find out your mom can access a discount drug program or a senior nutrition program.
- Check to see if your parents’ long-term care is covered under Medicare and if not, are they covered under Medicaid? Your parents may not be eligible if they have made a cash gift or issued an asset transfer within five years of applying for Medicaid. It is important to check and find out.
- At Your Next Move we can also check to see if your parents’ new assisted-living facility or residential car home works with hospice—not all places do so.
We know you have been charged with the responsibility to make some critical changes for your parents. It seems like it is always on your shoulders. We also know that you ove your parents and want the best care for them in their golden years. If you see visible changes in their habits, take action quickly so the start of your New Year will begin with less stress, better health and peace of mind for you both.
Contact us today to help you With Your Next Move. We provide stability, opportunity, and accountability and we are always there to serve.
This blog post about Senior Transitions is brought to you by the team at Your Next Move. If you are interested in further information you may contact us below. LIKE us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get the most current communication on the subject of senior relocation. Please join our mailing list.
Your Next Move, Easing Your Senior Transition
Julie Kopetsky, President
www.yournextmovenc.com
919-601-8203
Julie.kopetsky@yournextmovenc.com