• As we age, we sometimes need assistance.senior with a pipe 1 image by Pierrette Guertin from Fotolia.com
  
  Healthy aging is a part of life during which you can continue to love, create, learn, participate and contribute. As we get older, some of us may require some assistance. A plan to help your parent or grandparent who may need assistance starts with an assessment of his physical, social, mental health and financial status.
  
  

Assess Activities of Daily Living

• Determine the extent to which your elderly family member can dress, feed and bathe herself. She may be capable of doing these activities without help, may need some assistance or may be completely incapable of doing them. Find out if she can use the toilet, get from her bed to a chair, walk around the house, use a telephone, drive a car and manage to take her medications.
  
  If she needs help with some of these activities, explore services that are available in the community. A good starting point for information is your state or local area agency on aging. You can locate it at the National Association for Area Agencies on Aging website (see Resource section).
  
  You will probably want to establish a durable medical power of attorney so that whomever she decides should make decisions for her will be available if she is no longer able to decide for herself.
  
  

Assess Social and Mental Health Status

• Consider the place in which your family member is living. Is the two-story house where your grandfather has lived for 40 years still appropriate if he can no longer manage to climb the stairs? Will arranging for him to move to an assisted living facility mean giving up his treasured furniture and other belongings? If he decides to stay in his home, check for safety factors, such as loose rugs and a slippery bathtub. You may want to find someone to help with housekeeping, meal preparation and transportation.
  
  A widely accepted belief about elderly people is that they suffer from the loss of physical and cognitive ability, the loss of friends and family who move away or die, and the loss of income after retirement. Determine if your family member appears depressed, sad or lonely. Check with his friends and seek out appropriate activities he is willing to take part in. Most towns and cities have community centers. Churches, synagogues and mosques, along with clubs and nonprofit organizations, frequently have activities designed for elders.
  
  

Assess Financial Status

• Explore with your family member the extent to which she is able to keep her checkbook balanced and handle payment of her bills. If she has insufficient income, seek help in ascertaining her eligibility for financial assistance. With her consent, develop a power of attorney agreement, and be sure she has made a will.