Today, many family members live in different cities and countries. Particularly for Montreal, it is not unusual for adult children to have moved out of province, leaving aging parents here.
Here are some tips on how to best manage long distance home care.
- Think proactively when you’re here!
Think about things your parent will need help with, such as personal care and bathing, grocery shopping, meal preparation, and so on. - Expand your circle of care
When looking after an elderly parent, it is impossible to do it alone–especially from afar. Work on building a reliable local team of healthcare professionals and caregivers as well as family/informal resources. - Get to know community resources, be an advocate
Make a conscious effort to identify and get to know all the local community resources that can help seniors. And be prepared to become an active advocate for your seniors even from afar. - Keep detailed records
As a long-distance caregiver, it remains essential to know who, what, where, when and why of all medical, financial and personal circumstances. This includes having current phone numbers and email addresses of all healthcare providers. - Keep in touch
Things can change quickly, so regular check-ins and periodic visits are crucial. Ensure your loved ones are getting enough social interaction locally.
Client and family members input is an important part of our home care planning process and is vital for safe, quality person centered-care.
We communicate regularly with key family members to ensure that they are well informed of their loved one’s progress.
Just a note, to let you know how much we appreciate all the help you have given my mom and my family this past year. You helped her stay in her home as long as possible. We particularly appreciated being able to call when the caregiver was there, and not only get a complete update from her, but also having her hold the phone so that I could ‘talk’ with my mom.
I know that if she could, my mom would want to thank you herself.
