6 Smart ThingsYou Can Do to Reduce the Risks for Your Aging Loved One
The following tips have been taken from an article written by Carolyn Rosenblatt AgingParents.com
Most assisted living facilities do just fine in providing an enriched social environment for our aging parent. They have help with activities of daily living, all meals provided, companionship and fun things to do. But not are all safe for your aging parent particularly if he or she has dementia.
If your aging loved one is planning to move to assisted living or is already living there, here are six smart things you can do to reduce potential risks:
1. Inquire about the staff to resident ratio. Check it out for yourself by visiting at night.
2. If your aging loved one is going to leave the facility, be certain about the facility’s protocols to ensure safe pickup and return from assisted living. Persons with dementia can get lost easily and forget how to find help.
3. If your aging parent has dementia, consider getting him or her a wearable a GPS device that permits you to monitor his location from your computer. You may need to ensure that the caregivers check to see that your loved one wears the device any time he or she leaves the assisted living property. Don’t expect a person with significant dementia to remember how to call for help by pressing a call button on a bracelet or pendant.
4. If you visit, weigh your aging loved one. If an aging parent is not eating properly, you’ll see a weight loss, and that is a clue that things need to change. Dehydration and poor nutrition go together and increase the risk of skin breakdown, among many other dangers.
5. Check your aging loved one’s skin for any signs of breakdown. Yes, this means checking mom’s backside. Elders’ skin is thin and vulnerable to developing sores, especially if they sit for long hours. Pressure ulcers are painful, and can lead to high risk infection. The staff may not be trained to spot or report skin breakdown, and may not even know to look for it. Remember that assisted living facilities cannot deliver skilled nursing care. You must be the watchdog.
Our aging parents need our care and watching even when they are in these facilities.
These tips are taken from an article written by our guest blogger
Carolyn Rosenblatt from