Don't Shy Away From Having The Home Health Aide Take Your Parent To These Appointments

If you've invited your elderly parent into your home to live with you and also arranged a home health aide to provide the bulk of care for your loved one, you may be eager to get involved in caring for your parent in other ways. For many elderly people, regular medical appointments can be the norm — and you might feel compelled to accompany your parent to these important occasions. However, doing so can take up considerable time, so it's worth asking the home health aide to handle this responsibility. He or she can drive your parent to each appointment, take notes about what is said, and relay these details to you afterward to keep you informed. Here are some appointments with which the home health aide can help.

Nutritionist Appointment

Even though the home health aide will strive to provide your parent with a healthy diet, your parent may need to occasionally visit a nutritionist. For example, if your parent is trying to gain or lose weight, the nutritionist will want to track his or her progress. During this appointment, the nutritionist will make recommendations about healthy dietary changes that your parent can continue to make. While the home health aide can share these details with you, he or she can benefit from attending the appointment — after all, the aide may be the main cook for your parent.

Hearing Test

Whether your parent already wears hearing aids or has noticed that his or her hearing has begun to decline, an appointment with a hearing specialist is valuable. If your parent already wears hearing aids, the specialist may recommend appointments at certain intervals to test your parent's hearing; if he or she doesn't wear any hearing aids, a hearing test will determine if these aids are needed. Your home health aide can accompany your parent to the audiologist's clinic and relay the information to you.

Eye Doctor

Elderly people should visit their eye doctor regularly. People can experience rapid changes in their eyesight as they age, as well as other age-related issues such as cataracts. By visiting the eye doctor on a regular schedule, these changes and potential issues can be caught and acted upon quickly. This isn't an appointment for which you need to be present. The home health aide can sit with your parent, confer with the eye doctor afterward, and glean all the necessary details from the appointment to relay to you. For more information, contact a company like Polish Helping Hands.