How do you know when it is time to find a live in caregiver for your elderly parent?
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My parents are both over 78 and are having a hard time doing most of their activities of daily living. I can’t help out as much due to work and my own family I have to take care of. Should I start thinking of hiring a live in caregiver or hire a homecare agency?
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It maybe time to find or hire a private duty aide for your parents. Here is why:
Up to 40% of seniors need some form of assistance at home and up to 70% will need assistance at some point. I think your parents fall into this.
Here’s what to look for to be sure if you should hire someone:
Having trouble keeping up with a good diet. Being able to prepare healthy meals for seniors and staying well-nourished are important for maintaining health and being able to stay at home alone.
Low endurance for keeping up with household chores. This can lead to a dirty and cluttered home, which will increase risk of falls and general poor hygiene.
Poor hygiene practice due to fatigue. Having trouble getting to the bathroom, showering, and doing laundry can make living at home impractical without proper help.
Memory loss. Frequently feeling lost, forgetting to take medication on schedule, trouble sequencing tasks or making dangerous judgment errors are all signs of detrimental memory loss that make it unsafe to be home independently.
Poor balance. Frequent loss of balance, falls, and discomfort with navigating stairs or hallways are all huge safety risks at home.
Unsafe driving habits. Feeling unsafe and out of control driving to run errands and attend medical appointments puts the whole community at risk.
Feeling isolated. Whether it’s due to a physical inability to get out or loss of a loved one or friends, feelings of isolation and depression are common in seniors and affects health and quality of life.
Increasing burden of care of friends and family that is affecting relationships. Care from family and friends can feel too personal and cause a strain on the dynamics of a family.