Caring for parents as they get to a certain age can be frightening and stressful. It requires infinite tolerance and compassion, as you should carry this responsibility daily, aside from your work duties and other personal matters. Therefore, many people prefer to trust aged care homes to be the place for their elderly loved ones to receive proper treatment in their golden years.
However, sending the seniors to an aged care home is not as simple as it sounds. There are several processes that you need to put up with, and it can be more complex than what you imagined at first. Your thoughts might conflict with your feelings as you wonder whether it is the right choice for your beloved parents.
This post is created to help you get through these challenging circumstances when your loved one relocates to an elder care home.
Ways to Support Both Yourself and Your Loved One
Remember the care quality
Aged care homes are specially designed to be a safe environment for the elderly. The nurses and staff are equipped with adequate skills and experience to look after the seniors. Moreover, their services are offered 24 hours in an age-friendly environment.
So, keep in mind that moving your parents to this facility doesn’t mean that you want to put them in exile; instead, you want to make sure that they are in good hands.
Look after yourself
Being a carer for a family member can be a demanding full-time duty that causes a severe impact on your personal wellness as well as your connections with other people. Since you need to set your focus on your elderly loved ones, you may not be completely aware that you are failing to appreciate yourself in the process.
However, your parents always wish you happiness. So, it is important to make sure that you treat yourself well and let go of the unhealthy guilt that you feel when moving your parents to a residential aged care.
Talk to your parents
The distance shouldn’t stop you from having conversations with your parents. Even though both of you live apart now, you can still maintain a phone call with them. If they don’t have a cellphone, you can immediately dial the elderly home, so they can help you connect with them.
Build a good relationship with the caregiver
The seniors who live in the aged care facility will spend most of their time with the nurses. Therefore, it is essential to get to know the caring assistant assigned to look after your parents and establish a strong bond with them. Becoming close to them can put you at greater ease and help you easily obtain the latest information about your parents’ daily condition and progress.
Make their new room feel like home
The senior might not always say the words, but one of the major concerns of relocating to the aged care homes is adapting to an unfamiliar place. Therefore, it is recommended to decorate the new surroundings like their home by placing their personal belongings. You can also take several family photos and mount them on their bedroom walls or put them on their room tables. This stuff will make them feel more comfortable in a new environment.
Schedule your visit
Not only should you give your support from a distance, but you should also be physically present. Residents of an elderly home are frequently concerned that they will barely see their families again. Therefore, it is important to arrange your visits ahead of time to take away their worries. Make sure you mark your visit plan on their calendar to make them aware and anticipate it with pleasure.
Doing activities together
When visiting your elderly loved one, make sure you don’t only come to see them briefly, but also make time for doing activities together. You can have a meal with them or join their facility activities or events. This approach will help strengthen your relationship with your parents even though both of you live separately. It will also make the senior feel less isolated from their family.
Going on a trip with your elderly loved ones
If your parents’ condition is fine enough to leave the eldercare facilities for a while, you can arrange a short trip with them occasionally. It can be a quick day trip for coffee or dinner, or shopping with the whole family, or it can be an overnight stay in their old house. This method will help them to relive the past and feel a sense of normalcy.
If you are hesitant about taking them out of the aged care home with their medical equipment, you can ask the healthcare staff to provide clear instructions about what to do, or even ask them to come and assist both of you during those trips.
Leave a note for the aged care home staff
Since you know better about your parents and their preferences, it is advisable to prepare a list of some facts about your parents that the caregiver should pay attention to. You can include several information like their wants and needs, hobbies, favourite foods, unique habits, and many more important facts that can help them to cater to their needs.
Support your senior’s hobbies
If your parents love reading books or newspapers, or if they have fun when solving crosswords or sudokus, you can consider providing these things to them in the facility. You can ask the facility management staff to help you arrange the newspaper subscription for your parents, or you can purchase them and send the packages to the eldercare facilities. If screen use is not an issue for your parents, you can also offer an iPad with a variety of interesting apps to keep their minds engaged.
Conclusion
Finally, admitting a senior to residential aged care is never a simple decision. The process can be incredibly difficult for all family members involved, including yourself. Hopefully, these strategies above can help you relieve the stress of moving your loved one to the eldercare facilities.
