Trying to Provide Elderly Care while Working? Tips to Improve Care

Anna had a full-time job, actually a part-time job on top of that, but when her mother required elderly care, she didn’t even think twice about it. She agreed to be the elder care provider for her mother and began working on her schedule to ensure that she would have enough time to get to work in the morning, and enough time to spend with her husband at night.

Anna didn’t actually think much about her personal life, as she spent so much time working as it was. Her children were grown and the last one was working her way through graduate school, so that left her and her husband with a lot of extra time, or so they thought it would. When the economy turned sour in 2007 and 2008, he had lost his job, but found one quickly enough in a different career, making less than half what he was making originally. So Anna took to working two jobs to make up the difference.

Now she was going to take on the added responsibility of caring for her elderly mother. She didn’t know what to do with regard to elder care services, but she knew that she would learn in time.

While she did learn how to offer improved elderly care, she found that there were things that she could do that would improve the care that her mother received.

The first thing was to set limits on what she would be able to offer her mother. By establishing these limits, she was able to avoid overpromising and underdelivering. Her mother would also know what to expect from her. They agreed that if the time came that her mother needed extra care, that they would look into hiring professional elderly care providers to help out.

Also, Anna learned to set her priorities in order, which was work, at this time. By doing so, she was able to avoid rushing over to help her mother out whenever she called for help with something. Most things that her mother needed help with were not emergencies, and they could wait.

Anna also learned to take care of her own health. By running around all of the time, she was setting herself up for her own health issues. She made sure that she got the necessary amount of rest and exercise, which positively impacted the quality of care that she offered her mother.

If you are providing elderly care for a loved one, consider hiring elder care services, as that’s the best way to improve overall care.

If you or an aging loved one are considering home care services, contact Interim HealthCare today. G+