When planning long term care (LTC) for your loved ones, starting early can alleviate much of the stress involved in the process and result in all parties feeling more confident about their decisions. Managing the needs and wants of parents or loved ones can be difficult, but NPR explored some effective strategies in a recent piece.
The need for care usually does not develop overnight. But with an aging population, many families will soon face choices that can significantly affect the future of the older adults they care about. Having a productive conversation with loved ones can help assure everyone about the future.
Care planning can be a difficult subject to broach, which is why many families avoid it until the conversation becomes necessary. But in order to be effective, the process of determining future care needs to be comprehensive and include both family members and care providers. Desires and expectations for the care recipients can change, making the conversation evolve as time goes on.
In NPR's coverage of the subject, elder law attorney Howie Krooks focused on the importance of trust in these conversations. While it is impossible to predict the future, having a conversation that determines the desires of older adults for long term care can increase trust and reduce anxiety about the future.
The majority of older adults express a desire for aging in place. In the past, this decision may have sparked many difficulties, such as whether a family member could afford to take time away from work to provide care or if it would be necessary to hire help to assist with the activities of daily living.
Fortunately, advances in caregiving technology have arrived that support many older adults' desire to age in place.
Independa's integrated CloudCare is a holistic enterprise remote care and social engagement solution. Care recipients receive the benefits of the solution through interacting with an area of technology they are most comfortable with: the television. Independa's solution requires no previous experience or computer skills to operate and carries no stigma, unlike many home monitoring alternatives.
The world's first and only solution of its kind, Independa allows older adults to access video chat, integrated health information and a community events calendar on an intuitive user interface that comes pre-installed on LG TVs. They can also easily share messages and photos, among many more exciting features.
At Independa, our goal is to make eldercare less of a burden through technology-enabled independent living solutions. To schedule a demo, contact us through our online form.
Have you already begun planning long term care for your loved ones? Please share your experiences with us on our Facebook page.
