As those with elderly loved ones can attest, finding the right level of care – and at the right cost – for an elderly or ailing loved one is a difficult balance.
Recently, The New York Times had some useful perspective on this issue a short time ago, and some pretty practical tips on finding appropriate care to help keep loved ones in their homes, healthy happy and safe, but without the overkill in Overland Park or elsewhere.
Pick up some of those tips in the original article titled “Tips for Choosing Care for an Aging or Ailing Family Member.”
The range of needs an elderly loved one can develop, and for which you might seek aid, can run the gamut from simple to life-threatening, medical to cosmetic, and everything in between. Just as there is not just one need, there certainly is not just one option out there for care.
For instance, you might need someone to do basic housekeeping like cooking and cleaning. A hired homemaker can take care of these chores with gusto as long as no personal or medical care is needed. For a bit more, a home health aide can help with trickier needs like dressing and bathing assistance, but not actual medical care. And then once you get into the home healthcare arena, there are even more shades of care and ways of paying for such services.
For some tips and questions to ask when looking to match needs with the right service providers, be sure to read the original article. These types of services vary from state to state and community to community, but there are people out there with the information to help if you know enough to look for them.
Remember: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” When making your financial, tax and estate plans, do not go it alone. Be sure to engage competent professional counsel.
Reference: The New York Times (May 2, 2014) “Tips for Choosing Care for an Aging or Ailing Family Member”
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