Senior Loved Ones and The Holidays
The Holidays -- How are the seniors in your life getting along?
The holidays give us time to escape our daily routine and spend quality time with our senior loved ones. Lets face it, our daily lives are often hectic. Work, school, errands and more preoccupy us with getting through each day. While our busy lives often include visits with our senior loved ones, we are sometimes distracted with our own lives. It's not until we have downtime to relax that we realize our loved one needed help. That’s why this holiday season is a great time to take a step back and really look at your senior loved one and see how they’re getting along.
When visiting this holiday season, pause and ask yourself if your elderly parent, sibling, or friend is in good health physically. Look and listen for signs that they may need help.
Here are a few things to consider:
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Ask questions and listen to their answers.
Listen to how they speak. Try to gauge their mental health. Look for any signs of Alzheimer’s disease. -
Check for any potential hazards in their home.
Look around their home for trip hazards, health hazards and any other things that could cause potential harm. -
Look for signs that the activities of daily living are being done.
Take notice. Is your loved one bathing regularly? Clean clothes? Food in the house? Is the house clean? -
Look for signs of depression.
Often the holidays can be a rough time for seniors who have lost their partners or children. However, for some, everyday living can be lonely. Some seniors only have interaction with loved ones around the holidays so you may not notice. Ask questions. See if your loved one is involved with any social groups or hangs out with any peers.
Is it time to find help?
If there are signs of physical health issues, insist your loved one see a physician and receive proper care. If there are signs of deteriorating mental health, or hazard issues around the house, it may be time to have a talk about with the senior family member about their senior living and care options. During the holidays, it often becomes evident that it’s time to make difficult decisions and begin planning to accommodate the proper care of an elderly family member outside of their own home.
Where to find help?
“There is a need for care outside the customary family environment now that life expectancy has been increasing. Families have come to realize that the quality of life is often better for those seniors that change their living options when they can no longer remain independent in their own homes,” says Anita Kremer, Publisher of Alternatives for Seniors.
Fortunately, there is an abundance of information available today for seniors and their families. With the 65 and older age group growing dramatically, the need for information is as important as ever. “With more and more housing and home care services to choose from, there is a great demand for readily available information to help seniors and families understand and sort through when exploring available options.”
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Directories with Senior Housing and Care Options
Alternatives for Seniors, a senior housing and services directory is distributed free throughout a network of locations that include hospitals, senior centers, libraries, physicians’ offices, home care agencies, senior agencies, governmental agencies and more in nine market areas throughout California, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio. The directory is filled with information seniors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals need in order to make informed decisions. Comprehensive details on housing alternatives (Retirement Communities, Assisted Living, Residential Care, and Nursing Centers), Home Care and other services, are shown in an easy-to-use format. Helpful checklists are also included for the many different living alternatives. You can order a free copy of the print directory here. -
Online Information
Similar information as that found in the printed directory is also located at AlternativesForSeniors.com. There, a user can easily browse senior living communities and request brochures from many of the featured listings, which include senior apartments, independent-living, assisted-living, Alzheimer’s Specialty or other continuing-care communities where seniors can remain safe and in great care.You can also print checklists, watch caregiver videos, use the evaluation tool to determine the best type of housing for the situation and find other useful information. -
FREE Personalized Help: (888) WE-ASSIST
During the holidays season, if you notice it’s time for your senior loved one to move to a community where they can receive the care they need, call 888-932-7747. Speak with an information specialist who can help you find an option that is right for your loved one. With just one phone call you can let the information specialists do all the work.
So during this holiday season, remember you are not alone. If you find your loved one needs assistance, there are options. And if you feel overwhelmed, just call the information specialists.
BLOG DATE: November 27, 2013
Writer: Ryan Allen