Aging Parents With Differing Care Needs? Here’s How to Tackle the Challenges
Handling the relocation of your aging parents is a big responsibility, particularly if one of your folks is declining while the other remains in good health. You’ll be managing the cost and logistics of finding appropriate living quarters for each of them while providing the compassion your parents need to bravely face these big changes. Here are some tips for successfully navigating this challenging situation.
Focus on Long-Term Requirements
Finding the ideal care facility for your ailing parent is a priority. Start by assessing what type of place best fits your mom or dad’s specific needs; typically, a nursing home offers skilled medical care while an assisted living center does not.
Be realistic about the future; although your parent’s current condition may be stable, it’s better to find a facility that provides escalating care if you expect his or her health to decline. Ask friends for recommendations, or consult referral services to find homes that meet your location, cost, and service requirements.
Review Financial Resources
Quality care doesn’t come cheaply, so examine all potential resources for covering the expense. Experts note that demand for long-term care insurance is increasing, but if your parents don’t have a policy, you may have to tap their savings, veterans benefits, or home equity.
Selling the family home is another way to provide funds for nursing care while relieving your healthy parent of the hard work of maintaining a house. If you go this route, keep in mind you may need to fix up the place to get it market-ready. While you can leave some cosmetic updates to the new owners, you should fix major issues like roof or foundation problems, leaky plumbing, and damaged windows to attract a wider audience of buyers.
Facilitate Downsizing
If you’re selling your mom and dad’s house to cover the cost of a nursing home for one of them, you still need to address other parents’ living situation. Moving in with you or one of your siblings, renting a smaller house, or settling into a retirement community are the main choices, and each likely requires downsizing.
Once they’ve found the best option, make the transition easier for your parent by hiring a mover for packing and transporting services. Some providers will even remove items for donation or disposal to make paring down less difficult. Find a local company with excellent reviews and recommendations on Angi.com so the move is handled professionally by a reputable team.
Practice Compassion
Throughout this process, it’s easy to let troubling emotions get the best of you. Anger, worry, and frustration may all wear on your compassion, causing you to lash out unintentionally.
Acknowledging that what you’re experiencing is normal can help you let go of hurtful feelings and focus on the empathy and kindness both of your parents need from you at this time. By actively showing compassion, you’ll also improve your own well-being so you’re better able to tackle the situation without giving into negativity.
From finding the right care facility like Regency Jewish Heritage Nursing and Rehabilitation for your ailing mom or dad to transitioning your healthy parent into a new home, these tips will make these major responsibilities easier to handle. Just remember to maintain your sense of compassion as you manage these challenges, so you and your parents come through the process as successfully as possible.
