If your family member requires in-home assistance and they don't have local family to rely on, take a look at what you need to know about long-distance caregiving.
Why Do You Need Caregiving Help?
Are you tempted to drive hours daily just to help your aging loved one? While this may seem like a simple solution to your caregiving dilemma, it can put a serious strain on your mental health, physical health, and wallet.
The top reasons you need help caring for your loved one in a long-distance situation include:
• Travel time. Do you have the time travel hours each way? Lengthy travel times can take a chunk out of your day, decreasing your availability to work, care for children, or commit to other daily activities.
• Stress. Full-time caregiving is stressful, especially if your loved one lives out of your immediate area. Additional help can provide peace of mind when you can't physically visit your family member.
• Physical strain. Not only does caregiving itself put a strain your body (lifting, moving, or helping your loved on to stand, walk, and sit), but the added travel time can add to potential discomfort.
• Physical distances. If you don't live within driving range, you can't reasonably fly back and forth or take trains. An out-of-state or cross-country r relative requires daily help from someone who isn't you.
Whether you can't manage a long daily commute or a drive is out of the question (or out of the state), you need to decide who should help you care for your aging loved one. This next step is crucial to the caregiving equation.
Where Can You Get Help?
There isn't one universal answer to this question. The person (or people) who help you to care for your long-distance loved one depends on several factors. These include:
• The health needs. How much or what kind of help does your family member need? Do they require minimal assistance or is more complex, memory, or other medical care necessary? If your loved one needs health-related care, a home health agency is an easy answer.
• The time needs. Does your loved one need 24-hour care? A home healthcare agency or aide can provide all day and night care.
• The other needs. Will your loved one need non-medical help, such as meal prep, house cleaning services, or assistance with grocery shopping?
Again, a home health care agency staff member can also provide these vital services.
While another family member or friend who lives nearby can provide some of these services, you may have doubts about their ability to fully care for your loved one. If you face any uncertainty about the quality of care your loved one will receive, a home health agency can provide the peace of mind you need while you're far away.
How Can You Hire Help?
Now that you've made the decision to hire a caregiver, you need to out your plan into action. If this is your first time hiring a caregiver (or hiring caregiver from a long distance away), consider:
• Do you need a care manager/social worker? If you need help to coordinate services or better understand community resources, a geriatric care manager or social worker can help.
• Does your loved one require medical treatment at home? Some home health workers can only provide basic services. If your family member requires medication administration or other similar services, talk to the home health care agency about these needs.
• What credentials do the service providers have? You want someone with experience and expertise to care for your loved one. Ask about credentials, licenses, and background checks.
A home health care agency takes the pressure off of you. Instead of wading through resumes and conducting your own background checks, the agency will help you to hire the just-right caregiver-even from a long distance.
Are you ready to hire caregiving help? Contact Redi-Nurse for more information.
