Do you work out of the town and are worried about your aging parents?
Moved out of the country and left your aging parents behind?
Worried about taking that promotion?
Not sure how your aging mother will manage if you move to another city?
Travel required for work, your parents need you and you are the only child?
When caring for a parent or aging loved one becomes more of a burden than a joy, what do you do?
Whether you are in that situation now, or you are looking ahead so you will know what your options are, there are plenty of resources available to you to help eliminate some of the stress and make the job do-able, bringing you peace of mind.
It is important to remember that you are not alone in your role as an employed caregiver. Statistics Canada estimates that over 2.8 million Canadians are providing caregiving services to someone with health related problems. There are a number of resources available to you in the community to help you provide care and services to your loved one, but the real difficulty is figuring out where to start and what your next move should be.
Professional advice is a phone call away. Geriatric Care Managers (www.caremanagers.org) navigate the health care system, coordinate your loved ones’ care, and help you plan for their immediate, intermediate and long term care needs to ensure they receive the appropriate resources and services.
When is the right time to contact a Geriatric Care Manager?
-There has been a sudden or gradual change in your loved one’s cognition, mobility or lifestyle that has left you wondering if the they can continue living alone safely.
-You live out of town and no one is able to check in regularly with your loved one to assess and monitor their wellbeing.
-You are feeling overwhelmed and burnt-out over your caregiving responsibilities and you feel like it is causing additional stress and negatively impacting work and home life
-You are worried about the future and would like to know what to expect as your loved one ages
-You travel frequently for either work or pleasure and there is no one else to check in and monitor how your loved one is doing
-There are differences of opinion between family members as to the best plan of care. A professional can start that family meeting and present the best options in a non biased way.
When dealing with an aging loved one, planning ahead and choosing the appropriate services is the best way to help save you time, money, worry and bring you peace of mind.
Leave a reply
