Enjoying the Comforts of Home

As one of the 12 million elderly people in the United State who are living alone, your parent likely enjoys their freedom but could use a little help maintaining a high quality of life. Whether they have some trouble remembering to take their medication at the right time or they can't keep up with all the chores that have to be done around the house on a regular basis, there are a variety of things you can do to make your parent's life safe and more comfortable while living alone. Following are a few effective options to consider:

Deliver Fresh Meals a Couple of Times a Week

It's important to help your parent without making them feel like they are losing their freedom and sense of self-sustainability. Assist with their meal preparation by delivering some fresh meals for them to put into their freezer a couple times a week. Instead of making meals for them at their home where they might feel like you're taking their kitchen over, simply deliver some homemade stews, casseroles, and other meals that are easy to freeze and heat.

Your parent will not have to spend time cooking with dangerous appliances and can eat whenever they want to – which will help ensure that they can keep some of their independence in the kitchen. Just let your parent know that you're delivering some leftovers that your family won't eat, so they're helping you keep your fridge clean just as much as you're helping them keep themselves fed.

Schedule Regular Family and Friend Visits

A great way to get your parent the help that they need without taking too much of their independence away is to recruit the help of family and friends. Ask family members and your parent's friends to schedule a visit with your parent once a week so they can spend some quality time together and help with basic house chores while there.

If your sibling can show up once a week for tea and to clean the bathroom or do the laundry, your parent will maintain a quality social life and reduce the amount of chores that they have to do on their own. And if you can get just two or three people to commit to weekly visits, most of your parent's chores can be taken care of for them.

Plan Some Special Excursions to Town

You can get your parent out of their house and make sure that all of their errands get taken care of by planning special excursions to town once or twice a month. Invite your parent out to lunch, or take them to the movies. Or your parent might enjoy playing a game of bingo with their friends during a sunny afternoon in town.

While socializing in town, make a point to stop by the drug store, grocery store, and other businesses in the area so your parent can get their medication and do some shopping like they did when they were younger and able to get around by themselves more easily.

Hire an In-Home Healthcare Provider

One of the most important things you can do to make living at home safer and more comfortable for your parent is to hire an in-home senior healthcare provider. Doing so will not only help ensure that your parent gets the help that they need when nobody else is around to provide assistance, but it will also help ensure that your parent's specific health challenges are properly monitored and managed between doctor visits.

You can count on your parent's home healthcare provider to show up on time for every scheduled visit and take care of everything from changing the sheets on the bed and managing medication usage to preparing meals and monitoring blood pressure levels. Both you and your parent will have the peace of mind in knowing that an expert care provider is only a phone call away whenever help is required or questions need to be answered. Learn more from a company such as Council on Aging for Southwest Ohio.