When you live in another city or state, your job isn’t to be everywhere. It’s to build a system that sees what you can’t.
This hands-on workbook, created by an occupational therapist with more than 12 years of geriatric clinical experience, walks you step by step through setting up the paperwork, local helpers, and check-in routines that let you catch changes early and respond with confidence, even from hundreds of miles away..
What Is Inside This Workbook
- Where Things Stand Right Now: Sort what you actually know about your parent from what you’ve only heard on the phone.
- The Paperwork That Lets You Help: Get the forms on file so doctors and hospitals can talk to you, with scripts for the office call and the talk with your parent.
- Building Your Local Team: Turn a vague “keep an eye on her” into a small, specific job a neighbor will keep doing, and find local help when there’s no one to ask.
- Seeing More on Video Calls: Learn what to watch for on camera, with a video call observation log and a step card for the screen.
- Keeping an Eye on Money: Spot early warning signs, understand your options from lightest to biggest, and practice asking for one bank alert.
- Making Your Visit Count: Plan “one hour of looking,” build a medication list, and prepare for a doctor visit together.
- Should I Move Closer?: Work out whether a move comes from your parent’s needs or from guilt, and how to handle siblings who assume.
- Your Emergency Plan: Build an emergency travel budget and a first-hour plan for the call you hope never comes.
- Your System on One Page: Pull everything into one shareable summary with a weekly, monthly, and yearly check-in rhythm.
- Resources and Next Steps: Get a local resource directory and a 30-day action plan, one small step a week.
Throughout the workbook, 11 real-life scenarios help you practice what to say and do, from the late-night hospital call to the gift card “friend” to the holiday visit surprise. It’s designed to be used with the companion Caring From a Distance Checklist.
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Important Disclaimer: This workbook is for general educational and informational purposes only. It is not legal, medical, financial, or professional advice, and it does not create a professional relationship of any kind. Every family’s situation is different, and laws and requirements for documents such as health care powers of attorney, medical authorizations, and joint bank accounts vary by state and by provider. Before making legal, financial, or medical decisions for yourself or a family member, talk with a qualified professional, such as an elder law attorney, financial advisor, or your parent’s physician.
