How to Provide Care for Aging Parents
If you have elderly parents you probably realize that it can be difficult to provide care for them. It can be very difficult to help them if a health problem quickly occurs and they require immediate care and they require a lot of attention each day. You might be in a situation with one of your parents where they need constant care and you are facing the possibility of placing them in a nursing home but you would rather find another plan for providing them assistance. Let's take a look at some at some of the things you can do to assist with your aging parents.
Important Information
It's a good idea to have their social security number and the names of their doctors. Be knowledgeable about their health care plan and collect information concerning the name and telephone number of their dentist and their pharmacy. Also find out if they are on some type of a program that provided discounts on medications. Have copies made of the front as well as the back of their insurance cards. If they are involved with Medicare have a copy of their Medicare card. Medicare has provided a very useful booklet which is available online for downloading.
Medications
When creating a list of the medications your aging parents take make sure the list contains all prescription medications as well as over the counter types of medications including aspirin, nutritional supplements, herbal supplements, vitamins and other substances they take. Place in the list the dosage as well as the instructions for taking the medications. It's a good idea to take the list with you while visiting their doctors. Also have a list of the results of all medical tests your aging parents have taken.
Be very knowledgeable about all the medical problems your elderly parents are dealing with. It's a good idea to acquire important information and health care advice for your aging parents from their doctors.
Have a family meeting regarding your aging parents. Let all the family members have a chance to express their feeling and thoughts about your elderly parents and what responsibilities everyone will be taking regarding their care. It's also a good idea to allocate some tasks to specific family members.
Make sure you have sufficient knowledge concerning their legal documents such as wills, durable power of attorney for finances as well as durable power of attorney for health care and a living will if they have one. Also be knowledgeable regarding their financial assets. It's important to have a good plan for taking care of aging parents.
