Advances in transportation have made us a very mobile society. People may move from place to place for a variety of reasons: to continue their education, to start a new position, to retire to a warmer climate. An adult child may move to another state to start a new job or may be transferred to another location by his or her employer. Age is not a deterrent to this mobility. In fact, within the last decade, the number of people aged 65 and older that have moved from one state to another has increased 65%.

While some may have moved to be closer to children, others may have moved to a location that more suits their retire­ment needs. For many people this means that family is extended not just by mar­riage and the addition of new members, but by actual physical distance from one member to another. It could mean that your mother may now be in the Carolinas while you’re still living in Chicago. Some­how, no matter what modes of transporta­tion are available to you, nothing shortens the distance, when you find yourself in the role of caregiver, and you are trying to care for a family member from afar. There are some 65 million Americans providing care to older family members, with 15% of these caregivers living one or more hours from the person for whom they are providing care.

These “long distance caregivers,” in many instances, are caring for a parent or other older relative and are also employed and have dependent children of their own. In some circumstances, due to actual physical distance and/or other constraints, the long distance caregiver may be unable to provide the direct, everyday, hands-on care, but is responsible for arranging for paid care and coordinating the services that are provided. Long distance caregivers must often juggle the demands of two households. They frequently have to rely on reports from others about daily events. Work schedules, business trips, and doc­tors’ appointments have to be arranged and then rearranged. Care needs have to be coordinated, services paid for, and communication channels with family members and service providers kept open. The physical and emotional demands may feel overwhelming at times.

This is where Home Care Plus can help!  Home Care Plus is bonded, licensed, and insured. Our Caregivers are certified, and experienced.  We’re owned and operated by professionals that have lived in Charleston for generations; please contact us if you have questions or we can be of assistance in any way!