Elder Care, Caregiving and the Sandwich Generation

Long distance caregiving poses some unique challenges, as it is difficult to physically check-in on your loved one in their own home. Instead, you must rely on periodic visits and the reports of others. However, there are solutions to most concerns. Concern: Your loved one can no longer leave his home to go grocery shopping or tends to buy unhealthy foods. Solution: Help your elderly family member set up an online account at a grocery store, so he can order from home and have his groceries delivered. You can even order for him if you’d prefer to choose the food items yourself. If you’d ... Read Full Story

While some people are caregivers by profession, most take on their new role unexpectedly when something happens to a friend or family member. Caregiving is helping another person—usually someone who is ill, disabled, or elderly—with their day-to-day activities. This may involve driving them to different places, delivering food, cleaning their home, or scheduling doctor’s appointments. While helping someone is a gracious act, it can be very stressful for the caregiver, especially when the person being helped is completely dependent on the caregiver or doesn’t openly express his gratitude. It can also be heartbreaking to see a loved one in such a vulnerable state. Luckily, ... Read Full Story

The Holidays tend to be a stressful season for most people, and are often times even more stressful for caregivers . Holiday visits can be a great time to check-up on your loved one and have a positive impact on their care. One important task is to look out for warning signs that elderly family members may need more help taking care of themselves on a day-to-day basis. Physically, weight loss and a lack of personal hygiene are both signs that a family member may need increased care. It is also beneficial to look out for signs of forgetfulness, such as leaving unopened mail ... Read Full Story

Elderly people are more inclined to trip and fall, or otherwise injure themselves at home. Unfortunately, these injuries are harder to recover from at an older age. Luckily, there are many simple precautions that can be taken to greatly reduce the risk of injury. There are some tasks that can be done in any living area of the home: • All rugs and loose carpets should be either tacked or taped to the ground. This will prevent seniors from tripping on turned-up corners or scrunched rugs. • Electric cords should be secured to the wall or placed under rugs so no one trips on ... Read Full Story

As individuals age, they often need a bit more help with their day-to-day activities. The question then becomes whether or not that individual should continue to live at home or move into an assisted living residence. Home care is a great option for the elderly and has many benefits. 1. Seniors who live at home are able to maintain a level of freedom that would not be possible at an assisted living residence. For many, this freedom is synonymous with maintaining dignity, which is something many individuals fear loosing as they age. Similarly, those who receive homecare can come and go as they please—for ... Read Full Story