Most families wait to talk about\u00a0senior care\u00a0until an emergency hits, but experts say having those discussions early can lead to better outcomes and less conflict.<\/p>\n
Tatyana Zlotsky, CEO of A Place for Mom in New York City, said 77% of the families she works with tell her they wish they\u2019d acted sooner.<\/p>\n
Planning before a crisis gives families more time to compare care options, understand costs, and honor an older adult\u2019s wishes instead of making rushed decisions, the expert advised.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you think about this being an extremely stressful, financially burdensome decision already, doing it under the duress of a\u00a0medical emergency\u00a0makes it 10 times worse,\u201d she told Fox News Digital. \u201cAnd yet most families are still not taking action.\u201d<\/p>\n
Family caregivers lose an average of $21,000 per year as they cut back on work to care for\u00a0aging relatives, she noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Families generally tend to procrastinate because they suffer from caregiver burnout, according to Zlotsky, who specializes in providing support services and digital tools for finding local\u00a0senior housing options.<\/p>\n
Most families wait to talk about\u00a0senior care\u00a0until an emergency hits, but experts say having those discussions early can lead to better outcomes and less conflict. Ievgen Skrypko \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re already dealing with so much, it\u2019s nearly impossible for them to predict the situation sooner,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a reconfiguration of a\u00a0parent-child\u00a0relationship \u2026 the parent wants to maintain their independence \u2026 the child becomes the one providing the care,\u201d Zlotsky went on. \u201cAnd so the senior resists this at all costs \u2026 and the adult child is not sure how to have the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The discussion shouldn\u2019t wait until a fall, hospitalization, or other medical emergency, according to the expert.<\/p>\n
Tatyana Zlotsky, CEO of A Place for Mom in New York City, said 77% of the families she works with tell her they wish they\u2019d acted sooner. Fox News Digital<\/p>\n
Warning signs to watch for<\/p>\n
Zlotsky emphasized that\u00a0cognitive decline\u00a0often begins with subtle changes in executive functioning \u2014 not always dramatic memory loss. Adult children should pay attention to these signs during routine visits, as they may signal that it\u2019s time to talk about future care plans.<\/p>\n
These may include, but are not limited to, any of the following, according to the expert.<\/p>\n
Spoiled or expired food accumulating in the refrigerator<\/p>\n
Bills or paperwork piling up that were once handled routinely<\/p>\n
Frequently misplaced keys, phones or other everyday items<\/p>\n
Difficulty recalling recent conversations or events<\/p>\n
Changes in the ability to complete familiar multi-step tasks, such as\u00a0making coffee<\/p>\n
Planning before a crisis gives families more time to compare care options, understand costs, and honor an older adult\u2019s wishes instead of making rushed decisions, the expert advised. Kawee \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe Mom has made the same pot of coffee for the last 20 years,\u201d Zlotsky said as an example. \u201cNow all of a sudden she doesn\u2019t drink coffee anymore \u2026 the truth might be that it takes five steps to fill the coffee maker \u2026 and her executive functioning skills are failing her.\u201d<\/p>\n
She encourages\u00a0family members\u00a0to look for those signs earlier and to seek guidance from a professional.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t be required as a caregiver to diagnose Mom or Dad,\u201d she said. \u201cYou really have to be able to get consultation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zlotsky (not pictured) encourages\u00a0family members\u00a0to look for those signs earlier and to seek guidance from a professional. Studio Romantic \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
When having the conversation, Zlotsky emphasized the importance of listening to the older adult\u2019s preferences.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour parents do have opinions on how they want to be taken care of, and what that looks like and who does it,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really about having the courage to start that conversation and engaging in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can break through that ice and really get to the core of what they need and want, it can make the financial and\u00a0emotional journey\u00a0much easier.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most families wait to talk about\u00a0senior care\u00a0until an emergency hits, but experts say having those discussions early can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[2594,97,252,253,149,5599,12340,1120],"class_list":["post-759308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-aging","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-lifestyle","tag-public-health","tag-senior-citizens","tag-seniors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}