Why Seniors Shouldn’t Go To Medical Appointments Alone

By Roy Kleinert | July 18, 2024 | Comments Off on Why Seniors Shouldn’t Go To Medical Appointments Alone
In-home care can help aging seniors with medical appointments and routine tasks
In-home care can help aging seniors with medical appointments and routine tasks

If you have a senior parent who is living alone and you’re doing your best to take care of them while working or raising your kids, it can be tough to make it all work. Making sure that you have time off to take a parent to a medical appointment can be very difficult if you can’t easily get time off from work or if you have to bring small kids with you. 

In-home care can help. If your mom or dad has in-home care their care provider can drive them to the dentist, the eye doctor, to have blood drawn, or to any medical appointments. The in-home care provider will stay with your mom or dad and make sure that they get to and from their appointment safely. 

Your senior parent really shouldn’t go to medical appointments alone. If your senior parent goes to their medical appointments alone, they could encounter problems like:

Not Being Able To Find The Office

If your parents have an appointment in a large medical building, they could become confused and have a hard time finding the office they’re supposed to go to.

These days, many large medical campuses house dozens of medical offices. It can be very confusing to try to find the right office without help. Having a care provider help your senior parent find the right office can be very helpful. 

Not Being Able To Walk Across The Parking Lot Safely

Large medical campuses also have questionably accessible parking. Some have parking garages, while others have large parking lots full of cars coming and going. It can be extremely difficult and tiring for seniors with limited mobility to navigate a parking garage with stairs or a large parking lot where they have to dodge cars.

When a care provider takes your mom or dad to an appointment, they can drop your parent off at the door so they don’t have to walk a long way to get to the building. 

Not Remembering To Ask Important Questions

When your senior parent finally gets to see the doctor, they will most likely have limited time to ask questions. Your mom or dad may forget to ask important questions about their condition, symptoms, or medications. A care provider can take a list of questions to the appointment and give it to the doctor. Then, the doctor can call or email you the answers. 

Problems Scheduling More Appointments

At the end of the appointment, it might be difficult for your senior parent to schedule their next appointment. They might find the calendar confusing or not be very sure how to make the next appointment. An in-home care provider can help them make their next appointment and ensure it gets put into their calendar. 

Not Knowing Their Insurance Information

Insurance is confusing even for younger people. Your mom or dad could forget their insurance card, not be sure who their carrier is, or not remember other important information that the doctor’s office needs for billing. An in-home care provider will ensure that your mom or dad takes their insurance card to the appointment. 

If you or an aging loved one are considering In-Home Care in Old Bridge Township, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Lares Home Care at (732) 334-3323.

Roy Kleinert
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Posted in In-Home Care