Colorado Springs Senior AdvisorHow can we oversee a parent's care in Colorado Springs from another state?
Get legal authority in place (a medical durable power of attorney and a financial power of attorney), build a local team of a neighbor, a church friend or a care manager, make each visit count with appointments and facility tours, and use the public records to check providers.
Colorado Springs has a large population of military retirees whose children were raised on bases around the world, so long-distance caregiving is common here. Keep a shared document with medications, doctors, account logins and contacts that every sibling can see.
What should we check from a distance before choosing a Colorado Springs facility?
Each facility's CDPHE inspection and occurrence history and, for nursing homes, the CMS star ratings and staffing, all on our facility pages; then a video tour, references from current families, and the resident agreement before you visit in person.
Ask the ombudsman program at the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging, (719) 471-2096, what they know about a building; ombudsmen visit regularly. Plan at least one in-person visit before a move if at all possible.
Should we move a parent closer to us instead?
Sometimes. Moving an older adult away from friends, church and doctors has real costs, especially with dementia, but so does managing everything from a thousand miles away; weigh who will visit most often.
If your parent is moving to Colorado Springs from elsewhere, our relocation guide covers altitude, Medicaid transfers and timing.
What paperwork should long-distance families keep on hand?
Copies of the powers of attorney, Medicare, TRICARE and insurance cards, a current medication list, doctors' names and numbers, the resident agreement or service contract, and a list of bank and benefit accounts.
Keep them in a shared folder that siblings can open, and update the medication list after every hospital visit. When something happens at 2 a.m. Mountain time, the person who answers the phone will need all of it.
How often should a long-distance family visit a parent in assisted living?
As often as the budget allows, and at least a few times a year at different times of day, with a care plan meeting scheduled for each visit so the trip covers both company and oversight.
Between visits, schedule a regular video call with your parent and a monthly call with the residence's nurse or administrator.
Side by side
| Long-distance caregiving works with | It struggles without | |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | Signed powers of attorney | Legal standing to act |
| Local eyes | A neighbor, care manager or advisor | Anyone who can drop by |
| Information | Public records and a shared care document | Guesswork between phone calls |
| Visits | Planned visits with appointments | Crisis-only trips |
Drawn from 6 CCR 1011-1 Chapter 7, CDPHE and HCPF publications, CareScout, CMS, the VA and the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging; our editorial standards explain how we check them.
