Helping our Aging Parents Remain Empowered
Taking care of our aging parents is full of tough, long-term and short-term decisions, especially when trying to allow them to retain their independent living as long as is feasible, while minimizing their risks of being alone.
In those years before physical and cognitive limitations make independent living impossible, we try to preserve our parents’ independence while keeping a lookout for their safety and security. It is common to worry about them getting medical attention in the event of a fall or other emergency occurring in their home. We often turn to a variety of personal emergency response systems, and have thorough safety assessments conducted in the home to ensure it is elder-friendly and equipped.
However, one concern often overlooked is back-up home power in the event of power outages. Outages may occur with something as simple as a passing thunderstorm, a car hitting a nearby power pole, or something as impactful and potentially long-lasting as a hurricane or other natural disaster. Without power, our parents may not have heat in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, a subpump in a thunderstorm, and lights to see around a dark home. Being without power is even more important for the aging that depend on medical equipment like part-time or full-time ventilators. It is also an important consideration for keeping our aging parents as calm as possible in a storm, and power outages are enough to jar the most calm of us, regardless of age.
Automatic stand-by generators provide safe and reliable emergency power in the event of an outage, as well as provide peace of mind for aging parents and their children. These generators automatically detect that utility power has been lost, and within seconds, the generator comes on and is running the home on this back-up power. The generator runs until it detects that the utility is back on, and then puts itself back on stand by mode until it is needed again.
Efficient, cost-effective generators like the American-made Generac generators sold and serviced by Bear Rock Electric, Inc. (BRE) are budget-friendly and reassuring in trying times. BRE carries the full line of Generac Generators, and provides in home free estimates with the family to properly size the generator that is needed, and to locate the generator in a code compliant location that is also cost-effective for the electrical and the gas fitting installation.
At Bear Rock Electric, we may work directly with the family in these cases to make sure we do not burden the elderly parent or parents with scheduling and follow-up, but also keep everyone up to date on when we will be at the home, which will be at the home, and how long we will be there. Even more important, BRE provides the family a power peace of mind with not only continuous power needs in the home, but with the new Wireless Monitoring Device option, text messages and emails are sent directly to BRE if your parent(s) generator malfunctions or needs servicing. There is no need for your family to worry about continuous monitoring of the generator themselves, with this option, as we are protecting them directly. This is a very important and cost-effective option especially for family that live a distance from their parents.
BRE’s owner, Nicole, has faced these issues with her own parents, after her mother experienced a fall in the home which required resident nursing care for many months after surgery. “My mom didn’t want to stay in the nursing home, and my Dad was insistent that she come home immediately. However, I needed to work with both of my parents to provide a compromise, on how we could retrofit their home for their safety and protection, so that both of them could keep living there for as long as possible. That is why at Bear Rock Electric I want to help other families who are faced with many of these same decisions. With constant power at our parent’s home, I can feel more assured that they are protected, while still empowering them to live independently.”
Bear Rock Electric is proud to offer our Seniors a 10% discount on their generator and installation package, and we always provide a free home survey and estimate to make sure our customers have the right size generator for their needs. We look forward to serving more of our Seniors in protecting them in their own homes.
Call BRE today at 1-888-688-9927 or go to: https://bearrockelectric.com/contact/ for your complimentary survey and estimate.
