How Family Caregivers Can Have Peace of Mind During a Crisis
Being a family caregiver can come with some unique challenges and stressors. Factor in the current global pandemic and those stresses can feel even more intense. If you’re a family caregiver, you likely have many questions right now, but having these answers to some of the most common ones can provide you with some much-needed peace of mind.
What Financial Resources are Available to Caregivers?
Financial stress is common among family caregivers and that stress can compound any additional anxiety caused by the current outbreak. Thankfully, there are some options you can consider when it comes to paying for care costs for a senior or disabled family member. If your loved one currently owns a home and is no longer living in it, you could research local home prices to see if selling it is a viable course of action. Now more than ever it’s crucial to check into local home prices and market trends before listing a home, so you can determine whether selling will be your best bet for helping to offset care costs. If your loved one is still residing in the home, he/she may also be able to qualify for a reverse mortgage to help out with any care expenses.
Keep in mind that both of these options can be helpful for covering costs associated with in-home care or long-term care, but if you need financial assistance for yourself, you can pursue other avenues. It may also help to understand your eligibility for stimulus payments, which are scheduled to be deposited or mailed in the coming weeks and months.
What Long-Term Care Options are Currently Available?
If you are caring for a senior loved one at home, there may come a time when you need a little more assistance to provide that care and attention. Most family caregivers will opt to bring in a home health aide or other in-home help before they move onto other options for senior care, but hiring this sort of help can be a little more challenging with the current COVID-19 crisis. In general, you can choose to hire help for your senior loved one on your own or work through an agency, and each has its pros and cons. So be sure to read through these so you can determine which hiring process will best fit your needs and those of your senior loved one.
Many healthcare organizations, including home health agencies, are instituting essential measures to ensure that patients’ needs are met without risking exposure to COVID-19. If you plan to hire help, your best bet, for now, may be to utilize an agency to find in-home care for your loved one. Senior homes and communities have been especially hit by the outbreak, so you will need to be patient and exercise caution when attempting to transition a loved one into care now.
What Options are Available for Caregivers to Access Essentials?
Finally, if you are providing care for an aging loved one, you are likely also responsible for ensuring they have essentials stocked in their home. Unless your loved one lives with you, this can prove extremely difficult with the current outbreak but know that there are some ways you can provide essentials items, like groceries and personal care items, to senior family members without exposing them to a potentially deadly virus.
While visiting senior family members is not advisable at this time, grocery delivery services or meal delivery services can help you ensure that your loved one has what they need to stay comfortable during self-isolation. Keep in mind that these services are more popular than ever, so try to schedule orders in advance. Another option for getting essentials into your home or that of your loved one is to order from online retailers, but keep in mind that delays are extremely common right now, so this should also be planned out.
Caregivers play a critical role in our society, so it’s important for you to have the right resources to relieve any added stress or pressure during difficult times. Hopefully, the information above will provide that relief and give you the peace of mind you need to stay strong during these uncertain times.
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