For any family member who lives an hour or more away from their aging parent, running to the pharmacy for a missed prescription or to the bank to reconcile confusing account entries is inconvenient, yes. And, for those living beyond a manageable drive, calls like this are guilt and anxiety-producing.
Whether mom and dad are aging-in-place in their existing home or transitioning through independent to assisted living, the emotional challenges of your long-distance relationship do have an upside. Your separation from their day-to-day emotional and practical needs gives you a landscape view, and the larger picture, of their overall care plan and routines.
Technology that Connects the Miles
You are the conductor of your family care plan; your caregivers are instruments in the day-to-day. With today’s technology, together, everyone can whistle the same tune while they work!
Below are some low-cost and free online tools to help you remain connected in both head and heart no matter the distance.
Lotsa Helping Hands is a free platform that allows caregivers, friends, and family, among others, to post requests for support and organize things like meals, transportation, and home visits as well as give updates and announcements.
These free organizational calendars are not specific to senior needs, but also let you share and organize with your family members, caregivers, and others.
Caring Bridge offers free tools to keep your family and friends updated during a difficult time.
carezone lets you organize health information and access to vital health services, including pharmacy and Medicare consultation. There is also an online peer community for questions or just to vent.
Caring Village lets you store documents and prescription info and share calendars. This app helps caregivers communicate, coordinate, and connect.
MyMedSchedulePlus is a free mobile app for iOS and Android that gives patients and caregivers access to their medication schedules anywhere they go, track progress, and share info with your care team.
Medisafe Medication Management is a medication reminder and contains drug interaction warnings.
True Link is a pre-paid Visa card that lets you customize where it can be used as a tool to avoid senior fraud.
Skype, Facetime, Facebook Video Calling, and Google Duo let you see the faces of your loved one and that of your onsite caregiving team. Share celebrations, chat with the grandkids, review visits to medical appointments, etc.
Devices for a Secure Environment
Although not free, here are few devices we recommend to our families for greater peace of mind when safeguarding mom or dad long-distance.
Need a camera that provides live, immediate feedback? We recommend this one with night vision and two-way speakers.
If you’re concerned about keeping up with keys, or distributing them to multiple caregivers, here are two electronic deadbolts that allow you to keep track of who is entering the home: Tacklife Electronic Deadbolt Door Lock and Kwikset Powerbolt Door Lock.
Angel Companions’ mission is to provide the highest level of in-home senior and elderly care to your or your loved ones so you can get back to living and loving life. Our angels are committed to going the extra mile to keep you safe and cozy in the place you call home.
For any questions about the above resources, please don’t hesitate to call us at 770-579-5000 or email, info@angelcompanions.us to speak with an experienced case manager.