When someone gets old and crosses the age of 65, they become as sensitive and emotional as babies are. Senior citizens have a special place in any modern and developed society. They are facilitated in all possible ways so that their life can keep moving as smoothly as it was back in the days.
People who get old, need more love, time, affection, and help round the clock. Fortunately, they are getting all this inside their homes, in the form of home care. Older adults also become a little weak in terms of their physical and mental health. This is the reason why this segment of society prefers to spend the maximum time of the day inside their homes.
In this article, you will know a lot about the importance of home care and the services seniors could get inside the comfort of their homes. Let’s get started.
About Home Care Services
Accepting the fact that now you need help in doing most of the works at home, is difficult, but you cannot deny the truth. You might have been doing all the basic jobs at home by yourself or been successful enough to divide the duties at home with your spouse, but gradually it is going to become difficult for you to remain so active. And that is when you need help or assistance.
If the idea of moving to a nursing home or assisted living facility does not make you happy, then you can go with the option of home care services. These services can help you live your life at home even after the age of 65.
Home care services being offered in this modern age cover almost all the jobs, tasks, and chores that you want to do or want them to be done for you.
These services include the following facilities.
- Household maintenance
Running your home nicely and to make sure that all the chores are in order, requires a lot of regular and daily work. In case, things are getting difficult day by day, and you do not find your body strong enough to do all the chores by yourself, you need home care services.
These services will help you have a person at home who will stay with you and can perform jobs like gardening, grocery laundry, shopping, housekeeping, etc. You can also get help in keeping up with all the appointments, billing, and healthcare management.
- Easy transportation
Elderly people usually do not like to drive their personal rides, or sometimes they do not feel easy while driving at night. In this case, they can enjoy the available access to buses, trains, shared-ride applications, rideshare apps, and senior transportation services. All these facilities allow senior citizens to enjoy the liberty and freedom of mobility in their old age.
- Desirable residential modifications
When you grow old, your body becomes weak, which can put you in trouble in terms of moving around the house to get things or to do little and easy chores. With the help of home care services, you can bring changes in the placements of things at home, which can make your life easier than before. Making it easy for you to access your most needed and important things at home can make you feel comfortable.
These types of modifications may include installation or construction of ramps that can limit the use of stairs, installation of a new bathroom preferably on the ground floor, as it is easy for older people to spend most of the time on the ground floor rather than going upstairs repeatedly.
- Personal care
Seniors can also get help and assistance in doing daily routine activities like preparing meals, dressing, and bathing. Home care providers can either stay for a few hours a day or can be with you around the clock. Seniors can also get help in taking blood pressure and having timely medication reminders.
If seniors are unable to get out of their bed, they also need to be taken care of to help them avoid bed sores. If they are already suffering from it, our Guide for Picking the Right Treatments for Bed Sores might help you.
- Health care
There are many professionals, such as social workers, occupational therapists, and home health nurses, who can provide basic healthcare help and services inside homes. In order to learn if you are eligible for this service or not, you can check with your health service or insurance.
- Daycare services/programs:
In day programs, you can have someone who would keep you engaged and busy in interesting activities so that you could stay positive and keep enjoying your life. Most daycare programs are social, while others may provide limited health services.
Aging in Place: Right or Wrong for You?
It is better for you to stay at home if you are growing older and becoming weak. This is because you have memories associated with the place where you have spent your whole life. So, it could be a hard decision to leave your house when you become old. This is the reason why aging in place could be a great option. However, this still depends a lot on various factors like the support you get from your family, your financial circumstances, and your physical and mental health.
Plus, it is very important to be proactive in terms of deciding whether you would stay at home and enjoy home care services or like to move to a nursing home at an old age.
You may also check out our post about Elderly Health Care Issues & Solutions for more information about elderly care.
Tips for Finding the Most Appropriate Home Care Services
Once you have accepted that now it is time to have someone who could help you spend your future life more comfortably and safely, you need to figure out the kind of services you need. You can find referrals from where you can get to know about the best home care service providers.
Following are different kinds of home care services providers so that you can be familiar with the right option to go with according to your requirements:
- Full-Service Agencies
Full-service Agencies provide costly services, but the caregivers who are registered with them are prescreened, ensuring safety and reliability. You can find highly professional and trained caregivers from these sources without worrying about billing and tax issues. Since the caregiver would be provided by the agency, it is entirely the responsibility of that agency to find a replacement quickly if the current caregiver is not performing well or you are not having right terms with him. In case the caregiver leaves the job for any reason, then the agency will also be responsible for providing you with a replacement.
- Independent Service Providers
This option is relatively affordable and cost-efficient, but it can put you in the hassle of doing some legal work. In this case, you will have to handle all the billings and tax issues. Also, if the caregiver leaves the job without informing, then you will have to find a replacement by yourself. This could be a big problem and challenge for you, especially in this old age. Moreover, you will have to check out the identity of the potential caregiver by yourself.
How to Hire Home Care Providers?
The process of hiring a home care provider would mainly depend on the services you are expecting. Hiring someone who would maintain your yard is not going to be the same as hiring someone from whom you expect to have live-in care services. But, still, there is a basic criterion which you must follow while interviewing and hiring:
- Do not hire a caregiver by just interviewing on the phone. You should instead meet him/her in person first.
- Talk openly about all the services or chores you want the potential candidate to perform.
- Never try to pay in advance. Do talk about any compensation he may be expecting.
- Verify the information he provides you. This is important for your safety.
- If the candidate is associated with any agency, then ask him if there are any additional charges for add-on services.
- In case you have hired a caregiver, and now you are not comfortable in having that person in your personal space, then you must talk to him/her first. If there is any misunderstanding or miscommunication, you should get it resolved. You will be paying for the services, so do not hesitate in moving on and try to find a better candidate for this job.
Final Words
We hope that you now know the perks of having home care in your own home. The basic purpose of gathering and presenting you this information is to make sure that you or your elderly loved one can get to know about the benefits of home care services and the kind of services they could enjoy.
You should only opt for the right home care service(s) according to your requirements. Also, don’t forget to read the tips thoroughly as they can help you hire the most competitive caregiver for your ease and convenience at home.