My mom is forgetful to the point that we don't want to leave her alone. But we have to go to work, what can I do?

I'm afraid it's time to either hire in-home care or look at assisted living. If she is unsafe without someone being with her, an agency can be hired to have caregivers come in during the hours you are working. That is often the first step for people when they start out getting help.
If in-home care doesn't work out or you don't like the idea, then assisted living, with your help and care still as caregivers and her advocate, may be a good fit. Either way, she'd have company during the day which would likely be good for her.
Socialization is important for elders.
take care,
Carol

We have the same issues. We just bought a camera system from costco where we can watch her during the day from work on our PC or phone. This was an awesome investment. It also lets us see if anyone comes to the house during the day and we can see that mom is ok and moving around. If she is doing something that she should not be, we call her and tell her we see her and she laughs and stops. We are able to see the Meals on Wheels people drop off her meal and see also if she has gone to the kitchen to eat it. Have meals on wheels deliver for you and istall a security camera. It is a great help and gives tremedous peace of mind being able to see if she is ok during the day! Good Luck.

Ps. My mom has middle stage dementia and does not remember too much anymore.

My brother and I are thinking of getting a camera system also.... we call it a granny cam.

They are wonderful.... If you have a costco membership the prices are great. We got 4 camera's with night vision for 249.00 and they have a terrific picture. We put them at the front door entrance so we can monitor who is going in and out and in the hallway to mom's apartment to the 2nd floor and the main hallway of her apartment and in her kitchen. We opted not to put in her bedroom or near the bathroom so she still has her privacy. You can also rewind the cameras. Excellent investment in peace of mind...

Wonder if Sam's club would have them also??? Thanks for the info!

yes they do but costco was a better value as far as the images. My husband is a computer guy and does install cameras for businesses and he liked costco better. but look on sam's website as they do have them. Ours was Qsee brand and they sell them on HSN's website too! good luck.

This types of scenario is what emerging "telecaring" solutions are poised to address - particularly remote caregiving. One of the pioneering companies focused on using technology to promote aging-in-place safely, independently and more responsibly is Grandcare Systems. They provide the ability to monitor ADLs, activity levels, etc. and will help inform adult children, caregivers and other healthcare professionals of any behaviorial or wellness trends starting to take shape that should be questioned or confirmed. Its based upon placing wireless sensors in & around the home & configuring rules that will trigger events to take place if a particular rule is or is not met. examples include if Mom doesn't get out of bed by 9:00 then call person "x"; if Dad walks out the back door in the middle of the night, inform his neighbor & send me an eMail; if Grandma gets up in the middle of the night, turn on the bedroom/hallway/bathroom lights so she can see her way, if she doesn't return back to bed after 30 minutes, then call/text/email the following people, etc. It's pretty powerful stuff that promotes independence, yet provides peace of mind & fosters closer connections between loved ones, their adult children & friends, and the care professionals who support them. I think this sort of capability will become a viable, cost-effective alternative for adult children to consider, particularly if they are geographically separated from the ones they care about. ... or if it can help to delay making the often difficult decision of needing to consider other forms of institutional care.

These were great answers and good to keep in mind for myself as I age-I would want to stay in my home and this would help-also it is a good idea for family members in nursing homes -at a nursing home in our area a CNA attacked a resident and her family had already placed a camera and the aide was arrested-and I am sure she would have gotten away with it without the camera-her family must have thought something was going on in the first place.