People equate the ability to drive a vehicle with freedom and independence. Many seniors are unwilling to let go of the keys, and that’s a problem for caregivers who believe the person under their care can no longer safely drive a vehicle.
Mary Koffend related the story of a client they had that entailed bill paying services for a woman with slight dementia. Her daughters decided their mother shouldn’t drive anymore, so they disabled the car and told her she lost the key. But the woman called a locksmith to get a new key and got a mechanic to fix the car.
The main reason she did that, Koffend explained, is the family forgot that driving meant one main thing for this woman: Her social environment centered on going to a nearby cafe everyday where people knew her.
“If they had taken the car away and arranged for her to get to the cafe, there wouldn’t have been an issue [with the car],” Koffend said.
It’s easy to find substitute drivers, Koffend added. She mentioned a program called GoGoGrandparent that family members can set up to enable seniors to use Uber or Lyft without a smartphone. According to the company’s website, its service includes keeping emergency contacts in the loop.
Value-Add
In summary, the Koffends' presentation aimed to provide advisors in the audience with ways to help their clients navigate the tricky terrain of eldercare and, in the process, provide a value-added service to their practice.
“One of the ways you can provide additional services to clients is to be the objective, third party involved [in the eldercare process],” Mick Koffend said. “You can decide how far and where you want to go with that.”