The Rise of Remote Caregiving

While remote caregiving has been around for quite some time, the COVID-19 pandemic has made more families than ever make a switch to remote caregiving when in-person support is not feasible. This type of caregiving plan works best when the senior doesn’t need a ton of daily support, but would benefit from some type of assistance from their network.

Oftentimes remote caregiving is a solution for families who live far apart from each other and aren’t able to be in person as much as they’d like. Adult children of aging parents can often feel quite guilty in these scenarios because they wish that they could provide more support than they are reasonably able to.

It’s important to remember that being a remote caregiver doesn’t mean you don’t care, in fact it is a great way to stay involved in your parent’s care even when you don’t live close by. Here are a few suggestions for how you can make remote caregiving work for you and your family:

Solutions for Remote Caregiving

• Hold weekly family meetings - It’s critical to make sure everyone is on the same page, especially when you’re collaborating remotely. We’ve found that holding family meetings is a great way to keep everyone on track no matter where they’re located, share important updates and upcoming appointments that they may need to be aware of.

• Take advantage of the technology available - Our modern world has so many ways to make collaborating from a distance easier, and remote caregiving is no exception. Of course, video calls are a great way to communicate and the video element to the call adds an important social element to your conversation. There are also many apps that can be used to store appointments, reminders, and even medication notifications so nothing gets missed.

• Hire in-person caregivers to assist - Sometimes there is no replacement for in-person care. While you would love to be there for your loved one, it is important to have a reliable caretaker available to assist with necessary tasks face to face. Home health care agencies like Comforting Home Care often have flexible solutions to meet the needs of your unique case, so it’s important to talk things through with a caretaker to see if this is a possibility for you.
  
  

Focus on the Big Picture

While remote caregiving can be challenging, it’s important for you to remember the reason behind it all - the comfort and safety of your loved one. You’re undertaking this challenge because you care about your loved one, and even though you can’t be in person you can still provide a valuable support network for them. We hope that the solutions we’ve provided above will make this a bit easier for you and your family.

Comforting Home Care is happy to provide assistance for families who need support in the Lehigh Valley. Our care options are customizable to fit your family’s needs. Give us a call at 610.365.4206 to discuss how we can enhance your remote caregiving plan.