You may be visiting our website if you have an aging loved one with physical and cognitive deficits. While you may be able to care for your elderly loved one at home, you may not have the clinical skills nor financial resources to do so. Our blog posts reveal the physical and cognitive benefits of nursing home and assisted living placement. Your questions and concerns regarding physical, occupational, and speech therapies are addressed here, as well as your concerns about nutritional interventions and social activities offered in nursing homes. After reading our helpful posts, you'll feel more confident in making the right long-term care choice for your senior loved one.
Physical And Cognitive Benefits Of Long-Term Care Facilities
When Memory Affects Money: How To Help A Parent In Assisted Living Experiencing Financial Discrepancies They Can't Explain
Alice Cox
While nobody is perfect, an older person with memory problems faces challenges that are very unique. They might forget to pay a bill or not recall donating a few hundred dollars to a charity in need, leaving their finances in a condition that's difficult to figure out, much less manage. Without being overbearing, you can step in and help, especially when memory affects money to the point where their regular budget is threatened.
1. Go To The Bank With Your Mom Or Dad
Discrepancies aren't uncommon, and mistakes aren't limited to those with fading memories. Talking directly with a bank manager will help you protect your mom or dad by limiting exposure to their account. Make a list of authorized payees, and note who can and cannot act on your parent's behalf. Also, banking in person, rather than online or via mail, can keep the process honest, along with giving your parent a good reason to get outdoors and enjoy some fresh air and social time, if possible.
2. Create A System Of Consistency
Bills don't usually change much for someone in an assisted living facility, so create a system where they're paid by a certain date, with any exceptions requiring some type of explanation. For example, if your parent is paying for a trip somewhere or a new sofa, ask them to run it by you or somebody else in the family, first. A consistent system makes it easier to spot mistakes or, in some cases, anything nefarious going on.
3. Know Who Visits Your Parent And What They Have Access To
An elderly person can be a very vulnerable person, especially if they're trusting. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people who would take advantage of their kindness, including cons posing as charities, old acquaintances, or a number of other self-serving characters you don't know about. Even elders who are not dealing with memory loss and are considered very aware and astute can be victimized, so be on the lookout and know who is visiting, why they're visiting, and what they may have access to in the home. Sometimes, sadly, even relatives stopping by could capitalize on what they think is a fallible memory, helping themselves to money, jewelry and other items of worth.
4. Warn Your Mom Or Dad About Scams
Scamming is as old as the hills; however, it's becoming more and more sophisticated. Stay up-to-date on tactics, and let your parent (and their neighbors) know of anything going around. Depending on the extent of your mom or dad's memory loss, they may not recognize a voice as unfamiliar if it claims to be someone they know, meaning they're a potential target through their concern for others. Scammers don't care if your parent is on a fixed-income or ailing; they'll do anything to get their hands on the money they're after.
5. Report Unusual Findings To The Assisted Living Facility
Especially if other residents of the facility could be jeopardized, the assisted living facility staff should be informed of any known scam, be it via the telephone or otherwise. Staff should notify residents, helping them to avoid being victimized, as well.
Memory issues can make life in general difficult, to different degrees, but when money is missing or bills aren't paid, you need to help. Work with the staff at your parent's financial institution and the assisted living facility, and call and visit more often, if you can. You'll help your mom or dad feel more secure and give yourself less to worry about, too.
To learn more about life in assisted living facilities, contact a company in your area like Sweet Water Manor.
Share