Taking Care of Your Aging Family Member

The first thing to really be considered is where your relative will stay. You can always choose to care for your relative or have them checked in a nursing home or assisted living facility. Just know that assisted living and moving them to a nursing home can be expensive, and so the budget should also be considered.

If you’re taking your parent or relative in, then you may want to consider quitting your job. This is only if the household can afford to and if your relative will really need someone present 24/7 and assistance with almost everything that they need.

Now, quitting your job to care for a relative can be a reasonable option because of Medicaid. The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program or the CDPAP is a Medicaid initiative in New York. This is an initiative that allows consumers to choose their own caregivers. You can check FreedomCare’s CDPAP guide to know whether you are qualified for this.

Friends and family can be hired as an elder’s caregiver and this means that even if you quit your job, you can get paid by taking care of your relative. Just know that the CDPAP program will require its consumers to use a Fiscal Intermediary.

It’s also best to look for free or cheap public benefits concerning the elderly. There are states that would have programs specifically made to help elderlies live comfortably. The US government has its own eldercare locator. This can help you find caregivers or facilities where your parents or relative could move.

There is also the National Council on Aging that has a list of over 2,500 caregiver support services nationwide. The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging is also a community you should check when it comes to looking for programs concerning the elders.

Know that caring for an elder can be simple and extremely tough, depending on the health status of your relative. There are some elders who can do their day-to-day activities without the need for any help while there are also some who need assistance in everything that they do.

If you have a relative who needs assistance on the majority of their daily activities. It’s best to consult a professional even if you’ll be the one to take care of them. A geriatric-care professional can help in creating a care plan that you can follow.

If you have the time to stay at home and care for them but for some reason can’t really do everything for them, it’s still wise and understandable if you get the help of a nurse or a caregiver. You can hire caregivers who can focus on attending to their health and food every day.

If you have a relative who can still go out and do some activities outdoors, then it’s best that you involve them in communities that would help them remain busy. There are facilities that focus on the daily activities of the elders. Each day, they make sure that the elders have something productive to do.

If your elderly relative can still perform the majority of their daily tasks on their own, as much as possible, don’t disable them and make them feel that they can still be independent with the things that they do. You can help them and protect them from many things, but avoid treating them like children.

You can also guide them and protect them from financial scams. Statistics show that there are many cases filed concerning the abuse of the elderly. Many criminals would prey on them as they are easier to persuade in terms of money and investments.

You don’t necessarily have to take control of their accounts and their assets. You can ask them to share these things with you. Just make sure that you monitor the transactions they make to avoid any problems.

Aging is unavoidable and there will come a time when we will need someone to care for us. In the United States, it is estimated that 30 percent of the population are caring for their aging family member or relatives. This number is expected to go up as more baby boomers continue to age.

When it comes to caring for an aging relative, there are many options that can be considered. What’s important is you discuss this with your relative as it is a discussion that they also need to be part of. Deciding on the best way to care for your relative shouldn’t be a tough decision. The priority should always be how comfortable it will be for your relative.