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Senior Care Tips: Ensuring Your Home is Ready for an Impromptu Overnight with Your Parents

Senior Care in North Hills PA

Planning, routine, and predictability are all important elements of a well-organized senior care plan, but anyone who has been a family caregiver for elderly adults can tell you that the one thing you should expect when it comes to your care plan is the unexpected. No matter how carefully you structure your days and how thoroughly you schedule your time, there will be instances of completely unexpected events or circumstances that require you to change your plans and adapt to the new situations. By understanding this and preparing ahead as much as possible, you can eliminate stress and minimize chaos that can occur when a plan goes off track.

One of the things that caregivers may encounter is an unexpected overnight visit at your house. Whether it is because they get too tired during a visit and you do not want to disturb them to bring them home, their overnight senior health care services provider is not able to perform her duties one night, there is a power failure, or some other reason, if your aging parents need to camp out at your place for the night, you want to be prepared. Having the items you need already on hand will make these situations less daunting so everyone can rest a little easier and you can feel more confident that your aging loved ones are safe, healthy, and comfortable in your home.

 

Things you should have on hand for an impromptu overnight with your parents include:

• Medications. If your aging loved ones take medications on a regular basis, it is a good idea that they keep them with them at all times if possible. This helps prevent situations where they miss a dose or get a dose late because they cannot get home on time. If you do not have the medications on hand, consider asking their physician for a copy of the prescription so you can get an emergency refill if necessary;

• Clothing. One of the most uncomfortable parts of suddenly having to spend the night somewhere you did not expect to is not having pajamas to sleep in or fresh clothing to wear the next day. Keep a set of pajamas and changes of clothing for both of your parents in your house, making sure to change them out seasonally to ensure you are always ready if they need to change while in your home;

• Bedding. Make sure that you always have two extra sets of clean sheets available. This allows you to change the sheets on the bed where your parents will sleep before they go to bed, and have another set to make up the sofa or other space in case one of your children needs to be displaced for the night to give his grandparents a comfortable place to sleep;

• Toiletries. Keep your parents on their usual hygiene and grooming schedule by stashing a kit of toiletries in the linen closet or in the bathroom cabinet. This should include shampoo and conditioner, a new toothbrush, toothpaste, new deodorant, soap, razors, and any specific items such as contact solution or denture cleaner.

 

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring senior care in North Hills, PA, please call and talk to the caring staff at Extended Family Care of Pittsburgh at (412)693-6009. We will answer all of your questions.

Stephen Sternbach

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