Do You Need Tips for Managing Life as a Long-distance Caregiver?

By Shanele Healy | August 3, 2020 |

Taking care of your senior from far away may feel impossible at first, but the right plan makes all the difference for her and for you.

Get Your Senior’s Information Organized

Caregiver Charlotte, NC: Long-Distance Caregiver

Whether you have your senior’s information in a digital or paper format, or both, it needs to have some sort of organization to it. If it doesn’t, you’re going to have a really tough time finding what you need when you need it most. Your system is going to function best if it’s simple and easy for you to maintain. If you make it too complicated, you’re more likely to abandon it and lose important items.

Make a Plan for Communicating

You and your senior need to have a plan for communicating with each other. There’s no rule about this, of course. Checking in with each other is an excellent idea, even if you’re only doing so via text messages or email. Longer conversations are more for staying connected and having fun. This type of communication is more about ensuring your senior is well. If you haven’t heard from her within a certain timeframe, you may need to establish “ground rules” for what you do next.

Meet and Form a Relationship with Your Senior’s Medical Team

From far away you won’t likely be able to go to every doctor’s appointment with your senior, but it’s important that you have at least met her primary physician. This is incredibly helpful if she has health issues that could incapacitate her and necessitate that you step in with her medical team. Even a video conference with her doctor can be helpful for you.

Put Together a Support System

You need a support system that offers assistance both to you and to your senior. On her end, there are needs for hands-on assistance, likely from elder care providers as well as other family members and friends. On your side of the equation, being able to hear from elderly care providers about how your senior is really doing can be incredibly helpful. But don’t downplay the need for emotional support for yourself.

Understand This May All Change Quickly

Something that you need to remember as you’re making plans is that this can all change very quickly. You need to also have a plan for that eventuality. Knowing what you’re going to do if you have to get to your senior quickly is vital.

Adjusting your plans as needed is another part of being a long-distance caregiver that you’ll need to embrace.

If you or an aging loved one are considering a Caregiver in Charlotte, NC, please call the professional staff at Caring at Heart today at (704) 379-7510. Serving Charlotte, Statesville, Ballantyne, Mooresville, Huntersville, Matthews, Concord, Gastonia, Pineville and Indian Trail

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Shanele Healy

Owner at Caring at Heart

Caring for others has always been a passion for the owner. She joined the healthcare field while still in high school believing that every health provider had the same intentions at heart. While working as a nurse assistant,Gloria quickly realized that those whom needed us most were being neglected and not receiving the best quality of care they deserved.
Knowing in her heart that families deserved better, she started Caring At Heart in 2008 with two key goals in mind: To provide clients and their families with an experience that was personable, easy, and reassuring and to create a working environment that employees were excited and proud to be a part of.