Business article: Senior Home Care Agencies: When it’s Time to Take the Keys Away

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Most people wouldn’t consider either situation alarming, but what if your loved one got lost on the way to the grocery store or some other place they had been to dozens of times before?

It happened to 84-year-old “Mary” of Charlotte, N.C., about two years ago. She was supposed to drive herself to a dentist appointment, but somehow ended up about 10 miles away at a post office. Fortunately she remembered her home phone number and was able to call her husband for help. When he arrived, he hugged her and with tears in his eyes told her it was time to take away the keys.

As the baby boomers age, taking away the keys is a decision more and more of their children and spouses are going to have to make. Safe driving is no longer possible once a person’s vision, hearing and/or reaction time have become impaired by old age; or once diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia have robbed them of such cognitive abilities as memory, judgment and understanding.

In Mary’s case, it wasn’t the first time she had taken a wrong turn. Fortunately, her husband found the strength to take away the keys, but a lot of people are reluctant to do so because they fear their loved one will see it as a loss of their freedom and dignity. In such type of cases many people hire senior home care agencies because these senior home care agencies provide senior care at home as per your needs and they are flexible to change the services as different needs arise. Senior home care agencies also work along with any home health agency or nursing agency that may be assisting your loved ones after a recent hospital stay. So Mary’s husband also hired a senior care agency to help marry just days after she lost her keys.

Some days the senior care agency would play cards with Mary or help her do housework and make dinner; other days she’d drive Mary to doctors’ appointments or the store, or just take her to the park for an afternoon stroll. The senior health care agency did everything possible to make life seem normal that year before Mary entered the nursing home which made both Mary and her husband appreciate.

About the author of Senior Home Care Agencies: When it’s Time to Take the Keys Away

Visiting Angels is the nation’s fastest growing franchisor of non-medical senior homecare. The company now has 275 offices across the country. To find the one nearest you, log on to www.visitingangels.com or call (800) 365-4189.