Planning for Care

With more Americans living well beyond their 70s, more adult children are now left in a position where they find themselves caring for aging parents. For many, providing help for aging parents can be financially, logistically and emotionally challenging which is why addressing longterm care needs before a major life event occurs can help alleviate some of the stress. Here are three steps to creating a care plan:

Put a list together of topics to discuss with your parents. Communicate your concerns and include your parents in what they foresee will be their needs. If they are unwilling to discuss something you feel is important, agree to a time in the future when they would be willing to readdress. • Family Support – who is available to provide support/care as needed • Home Safety – are there safety concerns to be addressed • Medical/Cognitive – are medical and cognitive health needs being addressed • Mobility – what assistance with transportation is needed • Legal Documents & Finances – plans for paying for long-term care and ensuring all legal documents are addressed • Housing – age at home or move to a senior community • Socialization – this is a key component to healthy aging

Their current as well as future needs will dictate the types of services and resources you need to look for. Explore available aging options on srgtexas.com.

Put a plan together that everyone agrees will meet both current as well as future needs. See an example of a Care Plan in the Caregiver Toolkit.

• Support comes in many shapes • Open the lines of communication before a crisis happens • Understand their financial situation without judgment • It’s not all about you

For more caregiver tools, visit SRGTexas.com/getcaregivertoolkit