On top of your own job, family duties, and personal health priorities, keeping tabs on your Mom and Dad’s escalating conditions stretches your bandwidth painfully thin. You lose sleep, worrying that something critical will fall through the cracks. It may get to the point where every phone call from your parent’s number accelerates your pulse, causing immediate anxiety as you brace for the latest crisis.
Unfortunately, caregiver stress and burnout under these pressures become all too real of a threat. But you are not alone in this situation. There is professional help for family caregivers available to coordinate your parents’ intricate healthcare needs and empower you with resources to maintain your own health and well-being during this period of life.
Signs It’s Time For Help For Family Caregivers
How do you know when your parents’ health oversight has eclipsed your abilities as an untrained caregiver? Here are some telling indicators:
- You feel overwhelmed accounting for the 10+ prescription medications mom takes daily, along with understanding test results, specialist recommendations, therapy instructions, and other complex details.
- Dad was recently hospitalized and discharged quickly, leaving you unsure if aftercare is adequately set up for rehabilitation and follow-ups.
- Mom wants to maintain independence at home, but you notice mobility issues, hearing/vision loss, or neurological changes, making you worried about her safety on stairs, driving, and remembering critical self-care tasks.
If statements like these resonate, it is time to involve an expert Care Manager!
Services a Care Manager Provides for Health Oversight
A professional Care Manager becomes your central coordinator for all medical-related components in your aging parents’ lives. This alleviates YOU from tracking everything independently across their various health status changes. The services we provide related to health oversight include:
- Accompanying to medical appointments for note-taking and consultation
- Managing complex medication routines
- Future Planning
- Arranging second opinions or alternative treatments
- Coordinating specialty rehabs/therapies after medical procedures
- Overseeing setup of at-home medical equipment or modifications
- Applying for insurance coverage for long-term care facilities
- Advocating for additional support resources as available
- Most importantly, being YOUR ongoing resource for navigating healthcare systems and communicating changes.
Lean on Expert Guidance During This Transition
You need support during this dynamic shift of roles between you and your parents. Adjusting to their escalating frailty while wanting to spend quality time together adds angst. My goal is to minimize unnecessary stressors through compassionate coordination – leaving you free to cherish moments with your loved ones as their seasons change. I invite you to contact me to discuss your specific situation and how we can assist your family. You deserve accessible guidance each step of the way.
About the Author
As CEO of Complete Care Strategies, Rebecca Roskey-Brunner leverages over 20 years of experience as a Registered Nurse and Certified Care Manager to serve clients with special needs, the medically complex, and older adults facing health challenges to improve their quality of life. As an Aging Life Care Professional, Rebecca brings deep expertise in individualized care planning, dementia care, care coordination, and crisis prevention for vulnerable seniors.