4 Reasons Your Elderly Loved One Needs A Healthy Living Plan

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If you have an elderly loved one you are caring for, you may want to consider the use of a home care service. This way, when there are times you cannot be there, you will know that your loved one is still being cared for. However, not many people realize just how important it is to sit down with their home care service provider to establish a healthy living plan. Here are four reasons you should take this seriously:

1. There's Structure: As your loved one ages, structure is so important to keeping their days productive and thus helping with their mental and physical health. Without structure, it's difficult to establish a consistent routine that ensures that health needs are being met and kept up with. This also helps you establish what you would be responsible for when the home care provider is not there. For example, would you need to be the one to put together a healthy dinner? Or will you need to be the one taking your loved one on walks and giving them their medications?
2. Physical Health is Established: As mentioned, there is going to be room created in the healthy living plan that includes physical health. This is important to ensure that your loved one stays as in control of their body as possible. This prevents falls, which are all to common for the elderly that can often lead to more serious complications. Specific physical routines can also be established depending on their current medical state and needs. 
3. Social and Mental Health Cared For: There will also be time established for social and mental health. For example, daily outings can be included and this could even account for time spent with friends or family. You can discuss family and friends with the home care service you hire to decide how they should be factored into the healthy living plan. This can also include activities that you know your elderly loved one currently or would like to participate in. 
4. Leaves Room to Discuss Changes: When you have a plan established, it can leave you with more areas to make changes as their health changes. You can also discuss this with other family members involved in the care of your loved one. If there is no routine established, it's more difficult to see where changes need to be made and what kind of changes would be the most beneficial. 

When you know these four reasons your elderly loved one needs a healthy living plan established, you can see why it's important to take this seriously when your home care provider wants to go over it with you. 

15 October 2017