Senior Care Tips: Letting a Doctor Help You Choose a Care Provider
October 1, 2015
Senior Care in Saratoga CA
As your parents' family caregiver, one of the most important steps you can take to ensure that they get the level of care that they need and deserve is to devise a care team that includes various
professionals, friends, and family members who are invested in the care, support, and assistance of your elderly loved ones throughout their later years. One of the people who you should include in this care team is a senior health care services provider. This type of care provider can offer invaluable support and fill in care gaps that may exist between your capabilities and your parents' needs.
Due to the importance of the role that this care provider can play in the care that you give your parents, it can seem like a daunting task to choose the right one. You might feel ill-equipped to not only evaluate the types of needs that your seniors have in the context of what services you will need from a senior health care services provider, but to then take those needs and use them to select the appropriate care provider. One way that you can overcome this anxiety and feel more secure in your choice is to let your parents' doctor be a part of the selection process.
This physician is familiar with your parents' needs, personalities, and potential progression through the aging process, which makes him the ideal source of advice, support, and recommendations when selecting a care provider.
Use these tips to let your parents' doctor be a part of the selection process when choosing a senior health care services provider:
• Start talking in advance. Even if you are not sure that your elderly loved ones need extra help in their home, get the conversation started now. Talking about the issue early gives you plenty of time to think, come up with the standards and plans that you need to, and find the right provider. If you are uncomfortable bringing it up with your parents in the room because you think they will feel like you are trying to make decisions for them or get out of their care, give the doctor a call and request a personal meeting to start the discussion.
• Talk about function. As you get closer to hiring a care provider, ask the doctor to give you insight into your parents' physical and cognitive function so that you know what types of services that they may need. You know them best and know how they behave and many of the limitations that they may have, but the doctor can let you know about issues that you might not have noticed, or let you know what types of services that they may not need.
• Plan for progressive care. Most seniors will have progressive needs during their later years. Whether it is physical function that gradually declines or the cognitive decline of Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia, these progressive needs mean the need for progressive care. Talk with their doctor about the new and different symptoms and issues that might arise in the future and how you can choose a care provider with experience based on those needs.
If you or an aging loved one are looking for senior care services in Saratoga, CA, please call Familiar Surroundings Home Care. Call today!
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