Caregiver Duties You Might Not Know About

If you are starting to see signs that your loved one might be aging and could require your help in the near future, it is important to know all of the duties that encompass the role of caregiver. There are some common duties that we all know about but we wanted to point out a few of the lesser-known duties you might be required to carry out.

1. Medical Assessor and Notetaker: Your loved one might struggle with assessing their own physical and mental state to relay onto medical professionals. It can often become a task for caregivers to take these notes and relay them onto family doctors and specialty physicians.
2. Food Preparer: Preparing hot foods on an oven can often spell disaster for a loved one (especially if they struggle with memory loss). You might need to formulate pre-made meals and deliver them to your loved one to avoid accidents.
3. Driver: Aging loved ones can often begin to show signs of aging by the quality of their ability to drive themselves. If tickets or accidents have become more regular, you might be required to drive them to pick up food or get their hair done.
4. Helping with Hygiene: If you begin to notice that a loved one has lowered the frequency of their daily hygiene (i.e. regularly bathing) then you might need to start helping with those tasks.
5. Tracking Finances: Aging loved ones will likely still have bills they need to pay and those can sometimes be forgotten. It is important as a caregiver to help them track their finances and help them avoid financial hiccups.
6. Providing Companionship: Many might believe that their current frequency and length of visits will be enough to maintain a healthy psyche for their loved one. Unfortunately, if your aging loved one recently lost their companion, their emotional needs might require higher frequency and longer lengths of visits to maintain their mental health.
7. Home Organization: An aging parent might not be able to organize their home in a proper way. They could have important items used in daily tasks on a different floor of the house that could expose them to falls and injuries. You might be required to reorganize their living space to make it more conducive to their needs.

If you think your loved one needs a higher level of care than you can provide, it is important to start planning for a care facility. Let Senior Living Specialists help you in finding that facility to insure the process goes as easily as possible using our free service in the Texas area.