Warning Signs a Senior Needs In-Home Help
- Home Maintenance: How well are they doing with managing home maintenance and repairs? Are things not getting done that need to? Are you worried about them climbing on ladders and moving heavy household items around to clean?
- Unsteady On Their Feet: Is your parent having problems with balance? It can put them at higher risk for a fall when they are performing even small tasks around the house, such as loading and unloading the dishwasher or carrying a basket of laundry.
- Meal Preparation: Are they struggling to prepare meals at home? Some diseases such as arthritis and Parkinson’s disease can make cooking more difficult and even unsafe. It can lead to nutritional deficiencies in older adults.
- Personal Care: Is your aging parent living in an older home with a bathroom that isn’t as safe as it should be? The bathroom of seniors’ homes is where the highest number of falls occurs. Many times those falls happen when seniors are trying to manage personal care needs such as a bath or shower.
- Driving Safety: Age-related issues such as slower reflexes, hearing problems and vision loss put older adults’ safety at risk when they are driving or entering and exiting their vehicle. Have you ridden along with your parent to see how well they are performing behind the wheel?
Finally, another factor to take into consideration is how far you or other loved ones live from your parent. If you can’t get an answer when you call them on the phone to check in, how long will it take for you or another family member to get there to investigate? It might just be that they are taking the trash out or working in the yard. But it could also be that they have experienced a medical emergency and need help.
Learn more about our in-home care program.