↑
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Speaking Services
    • Writing Services
  • Blog
    • Self-care
    • Caring For Others
    • Grow Faith

My Life Nurse

Grow Your Faith as You Care for Yourself and Family

  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Speaking Services
    • Writing Services
  • Blog
    • Self-care
    • Caring For Others
    • Grow Faith

8 Best Tips – How to Care for Aging Parents from a Distance

11/5/19

My referral and affiliate links are below. If you click through & make a purchase, I may receive a commission, at no additional cost to you. My full disclosure can be viewed for details: Disclosure Policy
  • Share it!
  • Tweet it!
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
How to care for aging parents from a distance - elderly man blue
How to care for aging parents from a distance - daisys
how to care for aging parents from a distance - hand on plane window
plane in air - how to care for aging parents from a distance
How to care for aging parents from a distance - elderly woman in pink

There is nothing easy about watching your parents age if you live far away. But you can help. Learn how to care for aging parents from a distance.

You can help your elderly parents no matter how close – or how far away -you live.

Your tasks may look a little different than those performed by someone living next door or down the street, but they’re valuable nonetheless.

There are a variety of ways to care for aging parents from a distance. In fact, I’m confident there are several things you can start doing immediately.

But, I also know that this will be a lot to remember when you’re first getting started; so I made a printable list for you! Be sure to get your FREE list of ways to care for your aging parents!

8 Best Ways to Care for Aging Parents from a Distance

Thankfully, these tasks are not dependent on your gender, income, job title, or age. And, if you have siblings, work together by sharing your strengths to help your parents.

Evaluate the Home for Elderly Safety

If your aging parents are going to continue to live in their current home, safety is the first priority. Assess the need to:

  • Pick up throw rugs
  • Install grab bars (#paid link) in the shower or tub area
  • Provide a bath bench (#paid link) in the tub to help with transfers
  • Place night lights or lighted outlet covers (#paidlinks) in strategic areas
  • Keep pets safe (keep them on a leash and/or crate them at night so they don’t get stepped on or cause a fall)
  • Install handrails by stairs or outdoor steps
  • Place seating in a dressing area or bathroom
How to care for aging parents from a distance - money

Manage Finances – How to Care for Aging Parents from a Distance

For some aging people, managing finances becomes harder. This is a great way to help your parents – especially if that is something that comes easy to you. Here are a few small tasks:

  • Reviewing and organizing financial statements
  • Paying bills
  • Managing financial accounts
  • Make related phone calls

Arrange In-home Services

Although there are lots of tasks you can do to care for aging parents from a distance, arranging for in-home service evaluation is a must-do. To start this, your aging parent will need a home safety evaluation order from a primary care physician (your most important healthcare contact for your parents) and your parent will need to choose a home healthcare agency to perform this service. This evaluation is usually a covered service by Medicare.

If your parent has a skilled need (meaning services that can only be provided by a medically skilled professional like a registered nurse, physical or occupational therapist) and is homebound, your parent may be eligible to receive skilled and unskilled (bath aide) care at home.

However, if your parent is not homebound, or does not require a skilled service, you can hire a variety of services to help your aging parent (and your siblings). You can use in-home service agencies, or you can find privately offered services through Care.com.

I recommend you also contact your department of aging in your parent’s community to see if there are any programs offered in the area that can fund in-home services.

You may have already found medical equipment needs while you had a safety evaluation performed, but you can also check to see if there are any additional medical equipment needs that your parents may need.

Be very selective when hiring for in-home services. Be sure to get several references and ask for background check results when using agencies.

how to care for aging parents from a distance - med set up

Provide Occasional Respite Care

Caregiving is stressful, especially for the primary caregiver. Providing occasional respite care so the primary caregiver can have a break and get away for a while is a treasure.

Your respite care not only provides time for you to spend with your aging parents, but it also may prevent caregiver burnout and maybe even symptoms or illness of the primary caregiver.

Research Care in an Assisted Living Facility, or Skilled Nursing Facility (nursing home)

While you may not need these additional services right away, it is extremely valuable to do the research before you need them-it does take some research and time!

You can spend some time now, when you’re not under and urgent time crunch, looking for places that have services and philosophies that align with your parent’s needs and attitudes and are the best-fit residential facilities for your parents.

Then, you can narrow down your options by looking at facility/nursing home inspections to find the safest options.

Providing Emotional Support is a Great Way to Care for Aging Parents from a Distance

Everyone needs a cheerleader. You can be a cheerleader for your parents as they move through the aging process. Experiencing health problems is discouraging for many people, but it helps to have someone reminding the elderly to focus on the things they still can do. And, many times, with a little thought and a few alterations, they can still participate in activities they enjoy.

The primary caregiver also needs a cheerleader. The day-to-day caregiving can seem monotonous and unimportant.

Having someone remind the caregiver that what they are doing IS VALUABLE, IS HELPFUL, and IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE is an important task, and is something that can be done from a distance.

In addition to phone calls, encouraging cards, emails, and texts can also motivate and support the primary caregiver.

Give Updates to Friends and Family

Keeping caring friends and family updated can be a full-time job. But, it can also be a fruitful one.

Make a list of ways friends or family can help your parents. As you share updates, share needs too! People who love your parents and family are looking for ways to help.

You can create a small Facebook group or use another social media platform to share updates and needs.

Create an Emergency Plan – a Helpful Way to Care for Aging Parents from a Distance

An emergency plan is a pre-emptive attempt at solving future problems that can come up. Problems that might need solving include:

  • The primary caregiver becomes ill
  • Your parent needs to be hospitalized
  • And then the parent needs to come back home with additional care needs
  • Additional services or equipment is needed in the home
  • An extended skilled nursing unit or assisted living complex is required
  • The parent needs more unskilled care around the home (housekeeping, lawn care services, transportation, etc.)

You just cannot over plan for emergencies. Brainstorm a list of problems and then develop solutions to those problems – before they happen.

In closing, there are many tasks you can do to care for your aging parents from a distance. While it may seem overwhelming when you first jump in to help, there is definitely a starting point.

Be sure to start with a call to the primary care provider, a safety evaluation, and assess the need for in-home services.

Once you have any necessary equipment or services in place you can move on to the other tasks as they are identified.

While it is never easy to watch your parents’ age, caring for them doesn’t have to be difficult.

8 Best Ways to Care for Aging Parents from a Distance

Sharing is caring! If you think someone would benefit from this post, please share it on social media. Thank you!

Want to remember this info? Post this article to your favorite Pinterest board!

How to care for aging parents from a distance - elderly woman in pink
  • Best Self-care Tips to Be Happy on Valentine’s Day
  • Here’s What to Eat When You Ask ‘What Should I Eat?’
  • 13 Simple Ways to Cure the Post-Holiday Blues
  • 9 Simple Self-Care Tips for Busy Moms
  • How to Choose Christmas Activities to Avoid Stress
Lisa Kimrey

Hi, I’m Lisa! Thanks for visiting my website.  At My Life Nurse, we provide solutions to grow your faith and take care of yourself and your family. I’ve found that many women struggle with taking care of themselves – doing their self-care – when they’re busy taking care of or serving others. This is why our mission is to guide Christian women to wellness by trusting God’s faithfulness and performing essential self-care. Our readers love learning how to walk closer to the Lord, so they live out their God-given purpose. I’d love for you to take a look @ Mylifenurse.com

  • Share it!
  • Tweet it!
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Filed Under: Caregiver Support, Caring for Family, Caring for Others

GET YOUR FREE SELF-CARE MOTIVATION GUIDE!

Welcome, I'm Lisa, RN! I provide FAITH-BASED MOTIVATION and NURSING GUIDANCE to help you improve your self-care. Be sure to get your copy of my SELF-CARE MOTIVATION GUIDE. Subscribe Here

Get Motivated About Your Self-care!

Latest Articles

7 Self-care Tips to Lower Cholesterol Fast

salt & blood pressure spirometry - 9 Self-care Tips to Lower Your Blood Pressure

9 Self-care Tips to Lower Your Blood Pressure

5 Best Things You Need to Know to Overcome Intense Caregiver Stress

happy woman holding felt heart - Best Self-care Tips on Valentines Day

Best Self-care Tips to Be Happy on Valentine’s Day

Yellow direction signs with names of food on them: What Should I Eat?

Here’s What to Eat When You Ask ‘What Should I Eat?’

13 Simple ways to cure the holiday blues SM

13 Simple Ways to Cure the Post-Holiday Blues

mom on phone at laptop w 2 kids on lap - 9 Self-care Tips for Busy Moms kids at laptop

9 Simple Self-Care Tips for Busy Moms

categories

Disclosure Statement

My Life Nurse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for MLN sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. My full disclosure can be viewed here: disclosure policy for details.

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY!

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY AND RECEIVE THE MY SELF-CARE STARTER GUIDE!
Subscribing via email is the best way to stay connected to all of the great stuff happening here on My Life Nurse.

The My Life Nurse Newsletter contains nursing advice not seen anywhere on the blog!

I send lots of freebies along with Scripture-based self-care motivation, caregiving & healthcare how-to’s, product and service reviews, devotionals, and tons of encouragement in my newsletters. I spend a lot of time creating my newsletters and many readers tell me it is the light in their week!

Yes! Grab My Guide
Copyright ©2021, My Life Nurse. All Rights Reserved.
Design by Pixel Me Designs
Information provided on My Life Nurse.com is for informational purposes only. No physician-patient or healthcare provider-patient relationship exists in any form. This information should not be construed as medical advice and should not substitute your physician's plan of treatment. Please seek a physician if you need assistance. Consult with your physician for diet and exercise advisement. Follow your physician's treatment plan as directed.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkDisclosures