It’s actually unusual these days for entire families to live in the same neighborhood, town or even city or state. As more people move away from their hometown, the issue of caring for parents in other areas becomes ever more common.

When parents who live in other cities or other states start to show signs that they need help with their day-to-day care, the challenges can be significant. Read some advice and tips for long distance senior care, when you have an aging parent who lives in another state, and when an elder law attorney can help.

Determining Necessary Care

The first thing you need to do is make a checklist to determine what your loved one can still do, and what kind of help they need. Will an occasional visit and regular phone calls to check in handle the situation, or do they have more serious medical issues for which you need to prepare? Consider the following questions:

  • Do your parents need skilled care and medical aides?
  • Do they need help with daily activities, hygiene and care?
  • Is transportation to medical and doctor’s appointments an issue?
  • Will they need to make accessibility modifications to their homes?
  • Does dealing with finances present a problem?
  • How is their social life? Do they need social opportunities?

These are just a few of the things you may need to consider when determining if your elder loved one is in need of care.

Gathering Resources

When you first determine that you need help providing long-distance care, the next thing you need to do is gather the resources you have. Since you can’t be there every day if you live far away, you need to determine who can be there. Are there friends or other relatives who live nearby that can help? There’s no shame in asking them to step in.

In addition, local social groups, church groups and the like are good resources to help your loved one. If the medical problems are serious enough, you might look into home healthcare aides that are local to where they live. There are resources available covering everything from in-home medical care to Meals on Wheels to help with grocery shopping and running daily errands.

A few resources you may want to consider include:

  • Elder care managers
  • Home companion services
  • Emergency response hotlines
  • Home meal services
  • Adult daycare centers
  • Senior centers
  • Elder Law Attorneys

Long-Term Care

At some point, you may need to consider that in-home healthcare isn’t enough. There’s no guilt in admitting that it’s time to place your elder loved one in an assisted living facility, but you may have to have a long talk with your parent to establish the need. If they’re not eating right, missing medications or overdosing, having trouble with finances, home maintenance or hygiene, if they can’t drive or get to their appointments, they may need more help than you can provide.

If you’re having trouble with long distance senior care and aren’t sure where to go next, an elder law attorney can help. Stano Law provides help to Ohio seniors with a variety of elder law needs. For more information, give us a call today.