As your senior’s caregiver, the idea of her aging in place might not be your favorite one. Your goal is to keep her as safe as possible and living on her own in her existing home might not feel like the safest option to you.
Homecare Brooklyn NY – What Are Your Biggest Concerns with Aging in Place?
Overall Safety
One of the biggest concerns you might be dealing with is with overall safety. If your senior has been living in the same place for a long time, maintenance issues could be a major issue. You’re going to want to pay special attention to anything that could pose a tripping hazard. It might be worth taking an objective tour of your senior’s home and writing down anything that seems as if it might be a safety concern.
Nutrition
What your senior eats, and how often she’s eating, matters a lot. She needs to have the right mix of nutrition so that she’s able to remain healthy and so that she can do what she enjoys doing. If she’s relying on foods that are easy to microwave and eat, she might not be getting the nutritional value from that she really needs. Focusing on whole foods is much better, but your elderly family member may resist that idea because of the effort involved in preparing food.
Transportation and Mobility
If your senior’s mobility is challenged, that can mean that even getting around in her home is difficult. That usually falls under general safety, but it can also be a big deal when you’re considering whether she’s able to go where she needs to go on a regular basis. Driving in particular might be a bigger problem now than it has ever been in the past, which means assessing her ability to drive is an urgent concern.
Socialization
Something that gets overlooked very often is that your elderly family member needs interaction with other people on a regular basis. As your senior gets older, other factors can get in the way of that interaction. Her mobility might hinder her ability to get out and about or she might find that people she cares about have moved or become isolated themselves. All of this can cause her to become more isolated than she needs to be.
If you’re still concerned about whether aging in place is the right answer for your elderly family member, sit down and talk about it. Coming to a compromise, like hiring homecare providers, might help both of you to feel more comfortable.
