Parent Care Warning Flags
Warning Flags Can Signal a Decline
An atypical detail of behavior can be a parent care “call to action”. Alert to warning flags, you can intervene and perhaps avert a crisis. Eldercare can be foreign territory and difficult to navigate. A geriatric care manager can help you understand your parent’s needs; find and manage appropriate parent care; and help you achieve a degree of freedom from worry about your parents.
MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH
Memory loss
• You notice Post-It “reminder” notes all over your parent’s house.
• Your parent phones repeatedly at all hours of the day and night asking the same question.
• You find packets of prescription drugs lying unopened around your parent’s house.
Self-neglect
• During an unannounced visit you notice spoiled food in the refrigerator, no fresh food on hand and a troubling number of empty liquor bottles.
• Between infrequent visits you notice that your parent is no longer well groomed.
• A once immaculate house is now dirty and cluttered.
Loss of ‘executive capacity’
• Mixed among piles of junk mail, you find unopened envelopes containing bills and checks.
© 2009 Binocular Vision Advisors, LLC
The material in this website is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to replace the advice of a professional such as an attorney, accountant, financial planner or geriatric care manager. Although this website is periodically updated, it may contain information which is incomplete, inaccurate or out of date.