Your elderly family member may not be able to age in place for as long as she wants, no matter how stubborn she is about it. Asking some of these questions can help you both to determine if it’s time to consider moving now.
How’s Her Health?
If your elderly family member’s health is not doing as well as it was in the past, then moving may be necessary for her. Whether she moves in with family members or moves into an assisted living facility, she may need far more care than she can get by living in her own home. This may be one of the biggest factors involved in deciding whether it’s indeed time for your senior to change her residence.
Is She Safe?
The next most important thing to consider when your elderly family member is still aging in place is whether she’s safe where she is. If her safety is in question at all, then it’s time for you and her to talk about other options. She may have difficulty navigating from one floor to another, for instance, and that can be a huge factor in finding a single-story home for her.
Do You Need Her to Live with You?
For so many reasons, you may need your senior to live with you. There may be other obligations that require you to stay where you are and your senior has the space and safety with you that she needs. This isn’t a decision to take lightly, of course. If you’re not in a position to be able to move your senior in with you or she truly doesn’t want to live with you, you’re going to have to find another answer that does work for both of you.
Does She Want to Move?
If your elderly family member doesn’t want to move, there might not be a lot that you can do. Her immediate well-being and safety are under your control, but the last thing you want to do is to fight with her to make sure that she’s safe. You may have to talk to her about the logic involved in your suggestion to move, but ultimately she has to buy into the idea herself.
Aging in place may be possible with the help of home care providers and your devotion as a caregiver. But those two solutions may not be enough to overcome your senior’s environment.
