Many older adults end up being relocated to a facility, such as an assisted living facility. However, many elderly individuals do not want to leave their homes, even when diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. When that happens, senior home care may be a valuable option.
If you are considering home care for the elderly in their own homes, there are some things to remember that will help ensure that your family member is healthy, safe, and happy. Understanding these factors can help you make the right decisions for your loved one to get the care they need in a safe and comfortable environment.
Learn more about how you can help
your loved ones with In Home Care.
You May Need Skilled Nursing Care
Even if your elderly loved ones can get care from an in-home caregiver, the person providing the home care services must be qualified to do so.
Senior care requires more than a caregiver helping your loved one get dressed, cooking meals, or other activities of daily living. Long term care, especially for an older person, requires medical knowledge to ensure your loved one is healthy at home when receiving home health care, end-of-life, or respite care.
Nursing interventions may be required if your loved one has any diagnosis that impacts daily living and functioning. From dementia or Alzheimer’s disease to terminal illnesses requiring hospice care, skilled nursing care ensures that your loved one’s medical needs are met while they are at home and in need of assisted living services. This prevents you from having to put your loved one in a nursing home or end-of-life care facility to provide for their medical needs. Instead, they can spend the end of their lives in the comfort of their homes with a family caregiver or other qualified individual.
Without qualified care professionals, your loved one may not have access to the medical attention needed when receiving home care. This may put your loved one at a higher risk of health complications. However, with qualified health care professionals, your loved one will be safer and healthier, which means he or she can stay at home instead of moving to a senior living facility for ongoing elderly care.
Patience Will Be Needed For The Transition
Even though your loved one will be cared for by an in-home caregiver, senior care at home requires patience to allow for a smooth transition. Aging parents have spent much of their lives caring for others. Being taken care of can be uncomfortable, especially in their own homes.
Whether your loved one needs home care service or long term medical care, it’s important to be patient while establishing personal care assistance. Though you may see care aides as a better alternative than an assisted living facility, your loved one will likely only be able to focus on what he or she is unable to do independently. They may be reluctant to acknowledge that they need assistance with personal care and activities of daily living.
Geriatric care managers can be an excellent way to navigate the transition. Geriatric care managers can coordinate the care aides and other professionals who can provide palliative care. A care agency manager can also help you understand the best way to provide for your loved one’s needs so that your loved one can continue to live comfortably at home while remaining safe and healthy.
Patience makes it easier to create a new caregiving routine. Having a residential care routine can help keep you or your loved one from getting frustrated or giving up on using homecare because it seems to be too hard. Patience allows everyone to adjust to the caregiving services before the new home care provider comes in.
There Are Multiple Solutions
Each person is different, so, logically, each person will need different types of care services. While some older adults will only need homemaker services, others may require complex, medically focused hospice care or palliative care. Fortunately, care for your loved one in the home can be customized based on their individual needs. A care manager or another home care agency coordinator can assess your loved ones care needs. From there, they can develop a care plan based on needs and circumstances.
Including physical activity is vital for maintaining health and happiness. Regular exercise improves mood and strengthens the body. If you’re looking for ways to help a patient meet their physical therapy needs, check out these 11 exercises for seniors at home.
The ability to create multiple solutions for your loved one’s needs is an advantage in providing care at home or adult day care. This way, you can be sure that your loved one’s needs are met, and your loved one can still be independent as much as possible. This allows you to find a compromise with your loved one if he or she is reluctant to enable care at home but does not want to go to an assisted living facility or other residential solution like an assisted living community.
After implementing a solution, your loved one’s needs may change, or you may find that the current care plan is not working. Since there are so many options available for elderly home care service, changes can be made to the care plan to be more effective for your loved one’s needs. This flexibility can allow your loved one to continue receiving care at home instead of in an assisted living facility. In this way, your loved one’s changing needs, especially medical needs at the end of life, will not prevent your loved one from remaining in the comfort of their own home.
Whether your loved one needs a little help with housekeeping or requires in-depth medical attention, some solutions involve home care for older adults. However, many things have to be taken into consideration before implementing a care plan. By ensuring qualified professionals are managing the patient’s care, you can ensure that your loved one will have everything needed for care when they are unable to be independent. By understanding these factors and using them to customize a care plan, your loved one will be able to get the care and assistance needed while staying comfortably at home.
