Picture this scenario: your elderly mother, who lives alone, suffered a fall, fractured her arm and ankle, and is now being released from the hospital. Leafing through her discharge papers reveals the need for medications, physical therapy, medical follow-up in several weeks, and a number of other senior care services that will be needed as well as symptoms to watch for that could warrant a return to the E/R.

With a family of six to care for and a full-time job, is it possible to also make sure she sticks to her doctor’s orders and can avoid another fall before she has even recovered from the last fall? Increasingly more often, family members are donning the role of caregiver for their senior parents – as many as 44 million and expanding, according to the AARP. And following a hospitalization, the level of senior care services provided often needs to be stepped up in order to ensure safety and prevent re-hospitalizations. Check out these bits of advice to help adult children keep their elderly family members safer during recovery after a hospital stay:

• Investigate to get more information. Be sure to ask your family member’s medical team whatever amount of questions necessary to help you better understand how to provide excellent senior care, including who to call for help and warning signs to watch for that could indicate a potential problem.
• Keep your own care in mind as well. Caregiving can be stressful, and can affect a caregiver’s own health. Make sure to eat a balanced diet, get plenty of rest, and take time for activities you enjoy.
• Make connections. Adult children often feel the need to do everything on their own, but it’s in everyone’s best interest to have a list of helpful resources available: friends, extended family, neighbors, even a caregiver support group.

Home Matters would welcome the chance to help as well. We’re here to help keep seniors safe with our trusted senior care services, and to make sure they’re recovering and thriving following hospitalizations. We’re just a phone call away and can be a vital component to providing care to supplement family help.