Checklist – Caring for Elderly Parents
This guide and checklist will help families caring for elderly loved ones. We have included important to-do items that will help in dealing with the issues seniors and their families face. This article covers: Determining needs, Receive Permission, Handy information to access, Knowledge of senior concerns, and Taking a break and Caring for yourself.
Determining Senior’s Needs – Caring for Elderly
• Is your parent in need of assistance with shopping, cleaning, laundry, making beds, or yard work?
• Is your parent in need of assistance with bathing, dressing or grooming?
• Is she in need of assistance with grocery shopping, or meal preparation?
• Is your parent experiencing difficulty with memory, hearing, vision, or movement?
• Is it safe for your parent to drive or use public transportation alone?
• Does your parent have difficulty residing at home? Would modifications help improve safety?
• Is your parent in need of assistance with paying bills or managing finances?
• Does your parent need help with making legal and other important decisions?
Receive Permission
• Appoint a trusted family member for financial power of attorney to handle paying bills and financial decisions
• Identify a close relative to handle health care decisions with a medical power of attorney
• Discuss and execute a living will to define future life-support preferences
• Identify legal documents, policies, and accounts and have safety deposit box access
• Document your senior’s wishes: funeral preferences, songs, cremation, finances, medical preferences
• To make legal decisions, utilize a durable power of attorney
• Consider who to add to mortgages and deeds
Handy information to access when Caring for Elderly
• Copies of identification records: including, driver’s license, social security, and military ID numbers
• Copies of Insurance documents: including medicare, or medicaid info, supplements, long-term care policy
• Document medical history: include known allergies, medications, past surgerys and procedures
• Geriatric doctors: contact information including names, address, phone numbers
• Locate vital records including: birth certificate, marriage license, spouse death certificate, divorce decree
• Identify trusted providers, including: financial advisor, lawyer, accountant, clergy
• Update address list of family, friends, neighbors, and religious members
• Document financial records, including: checkbook, account numbers, tax records, investments
• Contact insurance agent for review on medical, life, homeowner’s, long-term care, auto
• Review and update legal documents inlcuding: powers of attorney, will, health care directive
• Locate deeds on properties including home, vehicles, or boat title
• Identify household records, including: mortgage, tax records on property, apartment lease
• Discuss final wishes including: burial, funeral pre-planning, organ donation, estate distribution
Senior Concerns
• Your parent wants to continue to make as many decisions possible
• Your parent wants you to respect her independence
• Your parent wants to talk to you about their desires, concerns, and frustrations
• Your parent wants you to have reasonable expectations of what can be done independently
• Your parent wants you to be patient, loving, and show compassion while you are being responsible
• Your parent wants you to make good decisions that are in the best interest of your parent’s needs
Take a break…and care for yourself
• Take a break and do something you find enjoyable for yourself
• Recognize when you are getting tired and you need to take a break
• Don’t feel guilty when you take a much needed break
• Utilize other family members, support groups, and experienced caregivers
For a detailed assesment about caring for elderly, take our senior-elderly needs assessment.
For a information about a personal emrgency button for seniors visit MyBuddyButton.com
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