When you don’t live near your elderly parent, you may feel out of touch with their care. Letting other siblings or home care providers take care of your parent without you can even make you feel a little guilty. However, there are plenty of ways you can be a family caregiver even if you live hundreds of miles away. Curious as to how you can contribute to your parent’s care?
Below are some tips that can help turn you into a long-distance caregiver.
Be a Fountain of Knowledge
Family caregivers who are providing hands on care may not have as much time to research your parent’s condition. As a long-distance caregiver, you can take on the responsibility of gathering knowledge about how the condition affects your parent, what to expect if the disease is progressive, and new treatments that may be available. Share what you learn with other caregivers in a regular call where all caregivers can touch base on your parent’s health and needs.
Organize the Care Calendar
You may not be able to be there to care for your parent, but you can help to organize the hands-on care they do receive. Take on the task of filling out the weekly or monthly care calendar that lists who will be with your parent at designated times. Of course, that means you’ll have to collect schedule information from other family caregivers. You may also need to be available to find someone to fill in if a caregiver suddenly becomes unavailable.
Provide Respite Care
When you are able to visit your parent, use the time to give other family caregivers a break. Offer to take over the tasks they do, like grocery shopping and making meals, driving your parent to appointments, and attending to them during the overnight hours.
Assist with Finances
One of the great things about being a long-distance caregiver in today’s world is that technology makes it possible to help with things you would have had to do in person in the past. One of those things is assisting with finances. Help your parent to set up online access to their accounts, so that you can monitor accounts and pay bills from afar.
Check into Home Care Agencies
Even if there are no other family members who live near your parent, you can still use your long-distance caregiver powers to make sure they have everything they need. Contact a home care agency to learn about the services offered and how they can ensure your parent remains safe and comfortable at home.
Sources: https://dailycaring.com/long-distance-caregiving-tips-a-comprehensive-guide/
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/8-tips-long-distance-caregiving