For older adults, Brookhaven companion care offers the unfamiliar week structure with support of care pros. We recognize the need for familiarity as an older adult navigates new surroundings on their own terms. Our care pros can handle routine support activities, conversations, errands, and hobby activities to help your parents settle in. Companion care responsibilities vary case by case.
The new normal after moving can be the firsthwile month. Boxes can be unpacked, and the kitchen organized, yet the week can feel completely strange. Moving to be nearer to family solves (almost) one of the biggest issues: the distance. Unfortunately, it doesn't magically recreate the familiar structures, relationships, and routines that your parent had before.
This is why companion care services in Brookhaven can be helpful.
What Gets Disrupted After an Older Adult Moves?
A move means much more than changing an address to your parents.
Your parents may have moved away from the grocery store where they enjoyed the routine of a familiar floor plan, the neighbor they chatted with afternoons, a reliable pharmacy, a favorite walking route, a favorite lunch spot, or what Tuesday typically looked like.
Relocating can make previously easy and familiar tasks, such as the routine of getting ready for the day, more complicated.
Where should I shop? Which route feels easiest? Who do I call if I need something? What am I doing tomorrow?
That adjustment can be especially noticeable after the excitement of the move settles down. Family members resume their work, school, and appointments to their usual routine. Your parent may live only a few minutes away, but still spends a lot of time on their own.
I don't think this means something is wrong. It is going to take some time to get used to having a new home.
To start, let's take a look at the structure of the week.
Are they starting to eat at the same times as they did before? Do they have enough reasons to go out and talk to someone outside the family? Have errands become part of their weekly routine, or does every outing still feel like a major task?
These questions help the family figure out how to provide the parent with a little more support to make the transition easier.
How Can Companion Care in Brookhaven Help Rebuild a Weekly Rhythm?
Companion care is especially helpful when it offers the older adult flexibility to fill their week as they wish.
A Care Pro might offer to go on errands with your parent, prepare meals, assist with light household chores, chat over coffee, go with your parent to their favorite activity, or countless other things in between. The aim is to help your parent adjust to their new routine, and not to create a new one. This is what makes a big difference after a move.
If your parent prefers having quiet mornings, don't book activities for them at 9 AM. However, if your parent enjoys shopping, but likes having people with them these as they adjust to their new surrounding area, your support should reflect this preference.
One or two supportive routine activities scheduled each week is a good first step.
For instance, on Tuesdays we can shop for groceries. Thursdays can be our activity day, if your parent would like to go on an outing, we can do that after we do our household task of the day and have our discussion. The activities we do should be suggested by the person receiving care.
Our broader home care services can be scheduled to accommodate your preferences and routine.
The word we have in mind is support. Your parent should have choices as to when they will go out, what they will have to eat, who they will have with them, and how much support they will need.
Family Can Stay Involved Without Filling Every Hour
Moving a parent closer usually starts with a good notion that has to do with "nearby." Because "nearby" doesn't mean we have extra hours in our weeks.
An adult child may have decided to do everything for their parent--going shopping, taking them on visits, going on each and every one of their outings, and spending the weekends with them. Of course, things like sickness, work, and travel invitations come out of the blue, and that routine slips.
That doesn't mean the move was a mistake or that the family has failed.
I prefer to differentiate family time and caregiver time.
If every visit with your parent begins to feel like a need to cross laundry, errands, meals, paperwork and house tasks off your lists, your relationship will begin to feel more like a to-do list. Families should be able to keep some time to just be with one another.
With companion care, someone has the ability to cover some of the time that does not need to be covered by a single relative fully.
Families that are helping a lot on their own can take advantage of respite care in Brookhaven to make sure they also get some planned time away from their caregiving responsibilities.
A Care Plan does not need to eliminate a family’s involvement. It is possible to create enough structure to avoid filling every gap.
Let the New Routine Grow Instead of Forcing It
One of the biggest problems people have after a move is immediately trying to rebuild everything.
New doctor. New grocery store. New church or community group. New social activities. New weekly schedule. New people.
It can be a lot of changes to deal with.
I would let your parent figure out what of their old routines they want to keep and what they want to let go.
Maybe they would like to go back to having lunch out once a week.
Maybe they want to have fewer social outings.
A Care Pro offers a steady relationship to help ground families as all the other pieces settle into place. So often, something as simple as seeing the same groceries in the fridge, knowing what happens at 3 PM on Thursdays, and having your own consistent friend [or partner (I don’t have any preference)] can help someone start to feel a bit more at home at their new residence.
Because of this, I also think it is important to allow more time after the move as well.
Boxes may rule the first week and logs may rule the second. But once you hit the third or fourth week, people often start asking what a typical week will be like.
It is at this point that the gaps in routine and companionship will become more obvious.
When Does Adjustment Need More Than Companion Care?
This level of support involves having someone come to the house and engage them in conversation, a routine, and social engagement while helping them with the day to day and activities included in the Care Plan. Companion care is not a substitute for licensed therapy, physician, nursing, or other practice.
A Care Pro is not able to make a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, dementia, or any other medical diagnosis.
If there are persistent and concerning changes in mood or behavior, or if your concerns are about a worsening of a previous balanced state or health, it is better to speak with their licensed health care practitioner before assuming changes are related to the new environment.
New safety concerns created by an urgent new situation also warrant this approach.
The solution may be companion care. The person may need formal medical or mental health evaluations. Both may be needed.
Clarifying that line helps families to determine what is best.
Which Month: Questions to Ask When Moving to Brookhaven
You do not require an extensive assessment to understand how the move is impacting your family.
I would start with some simple questions:
What aspects of the previous routine do they miss?
What do they do on their own in Brookhaven?
Are there errands or trips that still feel unfamiliar?
How many days go by with no or minimal contact with friends outside the family?
Are visits that used to be social now predominantly done to accomplish family tasks?
Are there days of the week that they would like and appreciate help with?
What do they wish all Care Pros would stay away from?
That question is as important as the others.
Care planning also includes knowing the boundaries and the areas that older adults want to remain independent and autonomous.
Families looking for support beyond Brookhaven can check our Atlanta service area for the local support in the area.
Frequently Asked Questions About Companion Care After a Move
How long do we need to wait to get companion care?
You don't have to wait for problems to start. Companion care is useful within a few weeks to help a parent become accustomed to new routines, perform errands, and also get used to company and having less burden placed on the family members.
Does companion care mean my parent can't live alone?
No, companion care means a person can still live and do most activities on their own. A care plan can be developed for those areas where a parent wants support.
What do Care Pros do on a companion care visit?
It depends on the care plan, companion care can include conversation, structured routines, performing errands, assistance with meal preparation, light housekeeping, and To help with daily activities.
Can a Care Pro help my parent make new friends in Brookhaven?
A Care Pro can help an older adult with outings that are a part of the care plan. There should not be a focus on getting someone to be social by a Care Pro.
What is the difference between non-medical and medical home care?
Non-medical home care will not replace medical home care or skilled nursing care. If a parent needs medical care and/or a mental health evaluation, then that healthcare provider should be involved.
What if occasional help is the only support needed?
Not all families have care needs at the highest level. There are families who have the need for help during certain errands, routines, and periods of time when other relatives are not available. Figuring out the right starting point for the older adult and what the family can realistically provide is key.
How do we know whether companion care is helpful after the move?
One should evaluate the move based on everyday life rather than expecting a primary, drastic change. Has making the week’s schedule more predictable become more of a goal for the family? Do the activities that the parent wants to do more regularly become tasks that the parent is now able to do? Does a task-focused, no-frills family visit now accomplish the goals of the family? These are the things that should be covered when the Care Plan is reviewed.
Let’s Talk About Companion Care in Brookhaven
If your parent has moved to Brookhaven and is still not able to settle into the week, let us know. We can discuss what support may be the most useful.
You do not have to make every hour or every choice all at once. Focus on the the new things that feel the most unfamiliar to your parent, and let your parent tell you what they want. Then you can start to figure out the support needs.
Let us know if you have any questions about companion care in Brookhaven.
About the Author
Matt Cohn has spent more than 25 years helping older adults and families think through in-home care and the decisions that come with aging. As the owner of Home Instead locations serving the Atlanta area and other communities, he shares practical guidance about care, family support, and maintaining meaningful independence at home.
