Long Distance Care

We allevate the anxiety and act in good faith on your behalf to care for your loved one.

Throughout the years, OPTIONS has developed a reputation of providing around-the-clock live-in services for elderly people who live alone when their family members live in another city.

If you live in Miami and you need to provide and manage care for your mother who lives in Baltimore, this can be quite an overwhelming task. OPTIONS can alleviate the anxiety and act in good faith on your behalf to provide full care for your mother.

While many families would like to remain close to their aging loved ones who need care giving services, it is not always possible to do so. Economic circumstances often dictate where we live. While long-distance care giving has been getting more attention recently, OPTIONS has been a leader in this arena since 1989.

The Home Health Care Agencies clearing house offers the following 2 tips for long-distance caregivers to help coordinate the care of aging parent or grandparent:

1- Create a contact list

Compile a list of all of the people who serve as resources for you in caring for your loved one. Your list may include many of the following people:

• Doctors: It is rare that anyone sees just one doctor for everything. In addition to your senior’s primary care physician, gather contact information for specialists and other medical professionals such as physical or occupational therapists.
• Friends and neighbours: Get the names and numbers of your loved one’s friends and neighbors. In a pinch, they are great resources for helping with minor problems that pop up. They might even be able to stop by on a routine basis for socializing or to check in.
• Home care providers: Elders can receive care in their own homes for things like bathing, personal hygiene, chores, meals, and medication tracking. Write down contact info for your loved one’s provider.
• Geriatric care specialist: There are people out there who specialize in managing the needs of elderly individuals. Keep their contact information handy, as they can help you monitor and assess the changing needs of your loved one.
• Other professionals: Keep contact information available for your elder legal services provider and your loved one’s financial planner. As circumstances change, you may need to call on them for additional help or advice.
• Community service organizations and other organizations: If your loved one receives volunteer services from a local church, community group, or meal delivery plan, it’s a good idea to have names and numbers for these people. If they can’t help you with a specific problem, they usually know someone who can.
• Adult day services: To make care arrangements and provide sufficient care for your loved one, you may choose to enroll them in some form of adult day care. Ask for emergency and non-emergency contact information.

 2- Make the most of your one-on-one time

Because you are arranging care over long-distances, it will be difficult for you to arrange frequent in-person visits. That means it will be important for you to make the most of the time you are able to spend together. Plan to reconnect by chatting together or participating in your loved one’s favorite activities. When you are away, call often to check in. If it’s possible, you may both benefit from chatting online via a webcam.

Long Distance Care Giving

One of the most challenging tasks for families is when their elderly parents are separated from them by great distances. This becomes even more challenging when one or both parents reach a stage in their lives where they become frail and vulnerable. Options has become an expert at acting on behalf of the family and providing care to those elderly folks away from their families. A good number of our clients live thousands of miles away from their parents, and we feel privileged to have been entrusted with the care of their loved ones. Our needs assessment initial visit as well as our Quality assurance frequent visits, give the families a peace of mind that someone is looking after the care, safety and well being of their parents on their behalf.

Please contact us today to learn how we can help you.