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Home Delivery Services for Seniors
Written by OurParents Staff
about the author
3 minute readLast updated April 21, 2023
You can get just about anything delivered to your front door these days, and pretty quickly too. This is great news for seniors with reduced mobility, chronic illness, or a physical disability. Delivery services make it possible for your aging loved one to get the things they need without the stress of finding transportation or asking for assistance. So what kind of services can a senior take advantage of?
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Get meals and food delivered
Sometimes making a meal is a real effort for an older adult. Whether it’s arthritis which may cause a grasping problem or some other medical issue, food delivered to the home is helpful and sometimes necessary for seniors. One of the biggest food delivery services is Meals on Wheels. This program is concerned with not just feeding the elderly but making sure the food is nutritious too. Each meal which is delivered is one-third of the dietary requirements that seniors require daily. Most programs serve one meal a day 5 days a week and, depending on the program, meals may be cold, frozen, hot or ready for reheating. Amazon Pantry is a great option for stocking up groceries and pantry items. For a flat $5.99 delivery fee, someone can order as much or as little as they’d like with no minimum purchase required. Items include: canned goods, dry goods, laundry detergent and dish soap, bath tissue, paper towels, and the like. A growing option is your local supermarket and department store. Safeway, WalMart, Whole Foods, Kroger, and more local chains may offer delivery to your loved one’s home. WeGoShop and other services like InstaCart, Nextdoor, and UberEats may offer personalized delivery services as well, depending on where your loved one lives. If there’s a specific store your loved one prefers, check with the manager to see if they now offer delivery services – you may be pleasantly surprised that times have changed. Or, simply type in “local grocery delivery services” in your Google search bar.
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Have prescriptions delivered to the front door
Having to take a prescription is one thing, but taking the number of prescriptions many seniors take is a hassle in itself without trying to get to the pharmacy to pick them up on different days. Even with the drive thru, drop off and pick up windows, this can be burdensome. Luckily, many major pharmacies such as Walgreens and CVS now have delivery service. Usually deliveries are made between 10am to 5pm on weekdays. If the prescription is phoned in by 10am that day, it will most likely get delivered that day. If its phoned in later, the it gets delivered the next day. Orders placed on Fridays get delivered on Mondays. So the thing to keep in mind is when the prescriptions run out so you or your loved one can ensure they can be refilled and delivered in plenty of time. Plus, most pharmacies offer automatic refills now.
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The other way to get prescriptions is through the mail. Depending on your loved one’s health insurance plan, they may be able to get up to 90 day supplies of medication delivered to their home. Sometimes, health plans have lower copays for mail order medication than retail pharmacies do. But ordering medication through the mail could complicate things. Your loved one’s medication could be stolen from the mailbox, or could come from a disreputable company. Mail delivery is slower too, and it could take two weeks or to receive the medication. Seniors can really benefit from home delivery. It can save trips to the store or pharmacy in the winter. A senior can also make sure that a hot meal is going to be delivered so they don’t go hungry. Be sure to check into the home delivery services in your loved one’s area.
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