Your dad fell. He claims he simply tripped on his cat, but you’ve noticed him stumble several times. It could be that he’s forgotten to take his medications more than once and you’re worried. How do you assess your dad’s need for elder care services without infringing on his privacy?
Go Over Common Activities
Print out a list of activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. If you make it about you, he might be more willing to address his own strengths and weaknesses.
For example, your knees ache when you stand up from sitting. Let him see it and point out how everyone gets older and finds their bodies changing and causing unexpected issues.
Talk about how the pain can make it hard to get up and down the stairs when it’s laundry day. Tell him how you’d love to be able to move your laundry room to the same level. What does he say? If he admits that he can’t do laundry without someone else helping him out, that’s a sign that housekeeping and laundry services could help.
Bring up other services like transportation if he shouldn’t be driving. See if he’d find it helpful to have someone helping him with organizing his mail, appointments, and bill paying. Ask what he thinks of having someone around to cook his meals.
As you go over these different areas of elder care, point out how you’d love to have that level of help as you age. Make it less scary and focus on all of the positives.
Get Your Dad’s Input
Make sure your dad is involved when you arrange elder care. If he feels pressured into doing what you say, it won’t go over well. If he feels like you’ve made the decisions without him, he may not cooperate with his caregiver. Let him ask questions and name the services he feels are most helpful in his situation.
When you call an elder care agency, make sure your dad is added to the call. He may be in your house and pick up a different extension or you could add him to a conference call. Make sure he’s able to ask his questions. If he’s not happy with the answers or doesn’t understand them, get clarification.
The other step to making sure your dad is happy with elder care is by setting up a trial basis at first. Give him a month to try it out. If he hates it, sit down and discuss other options. Chances are that once he knows his caregivers and sees how they help him stay independent, he’ll love having them around.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering elder care in Lodi, CA, please contact the caring staff at Provident Care Home Care today at (209) 578-1210.
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