Aging in place is preferred by the majority of elderly Americans. Growing older in the comfort and familiarity of home while being close to friends and family only enhances a senior’s quality of life. Home care makes this ideal situation possible, but families and seniors may have questions.
Q: What is home care?
A: Home care is a service given by a professional caregiver to an elderly care recipient in the latter’s home. Non-medical care involves support with the activities of daily living, such as personal hygiene tasks, meal preparation, grocery shopping, light housekeeping, and transportation to doctors’ offices.
Companionship is also an integral part of home care. Professional caregivers socialize with seniors in their care, preventing social isolation and feelings of loneliness. Conversations, outings, playing games, and assembling puzzles keep older adults well socialized, mentally stimulated, and emotionally healthy.
Q: What are the benefits of home care?
A: Social and emotional health are just two benefits of receiving home care. Safety is also valued by seniors and their families. Dementia patients, for instance, must never be left alone at home. Memory caregivers monitor the senior, gently returning the individual to safety when wandering occurs.
Caregivers continually remove clutter from walkways in the home. Fall-prevention services like this ensure that older people do not stumble and fall. Caregivers routinely perform fall-risk assessments, which keep seniors from injury. They also provide mobility services to help seniors move around safely.
Q: How is home care different from home health care?
A: Custodial in nature, home care is designed to help with non-medical tasks. Home health care, on the other hand, includes basic healthcare services; a skilled healthcare practitioner takes a senior’s blood pressure, weight, heart rate, and oxygen saturation. Wound care and injections are also included.
Q: Does home care hinder independence?
A: Seniors who receive home care enjoy greater independence. Contrary to common assumption, caregivers do not hamper seniors’ freedoms. Rather, professional caregivers serve as strong advocates for the individuals in their care, helping them enjoy lives of dignity, fulfillment, and independence.
Professional caregivers boost seniors’ confidence by giving them opportunities to perform tasks independently when it is safe to do so. Seniors who don’t drive receive safe transportation to any local destination—a valuable service that helps them remain socially active within their community.
Q: Do home care professionals handle emergencies?
A: Emergencies can happen unexpectedly at any time. A fall can send a senior to the emergency room with a broken hip. A cooking mishap can trigger the smoke detector. Professional caregivers are trained in First Aid and CPR and know how to respond quickly to emergencies.
Q: What qualifications do home care professionals possess?
A: Professional caregivers from reputable home care agencies are not only experienced in providing quality elder care, but they are licensed, bonded, and insured. Caregivers pass background-checks prior to being hired. This combination gives families and seniors peace of mind when working with a caregiver.
Since professional caregivers provide transportation to elderly care recipients, they are required to possess an excellent driving record and auto insurance. Seniors enjoy the camaraderie of their driver, who also accompanies the senior throughout the duration of the outing, assisting as necessary.
Q: Can seniors choose their caregiver?
A: During the initial in-home consultation, the senior’s care needs are determined. Once the evaluation is complete, a professional caregiver who best fulfills those needs is selected. For instance, dementia patients benefit from memory caregivers who are trained to recognize Alzheimer’s symptoms.
Seniors also have the opportunity to meet their prospective caregiver. If rapport is established, the caregiver can be expected to be a good fit. In cases where personality clashes occur, home care agencies dispatch a different caregiver until customer satisfaction and comfort are achieved.
Consistency is the goal for home care agencies. Seniors should expect the same caregiver to provide home care services over the duration of care. This setup promotes familiarization and a feeling of comfort. Backup caregivers are sent when the original caregiver becomes ill or has an emergency.
Q: What elder care services do home care agencies offer?
A: Home care agencies are experienced in providing quality care to seniors of all ability levels. Some seniors require intermittent care, which makes respite care beneficial. Others require ongoing care and constant supervision; in these situations, live-in or 24-hour care are the preferred choices.
Seniors suffering from a terminal illness can choose hospice care to promote comfort during the final stages of their disease. Home care agencies also provide post-hospitalization care to accelerate recovery after a surgery or illness. Dementia care supports seniors with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.
Assisting Hand Home Care
Families and their elderly loved ones may have several questions when extra support at home becomes necessary. Home care agencies, like Assisting Hand Home Care, are staffed with dedicated elder care specialists who can answer any questions about our invaluable senior home care services.
Our professional caregivers are available to provide comprehensive non-medical care to the elderly. Care responsibilities range from cooking nutritious meals to transporting seniors and social outings. We also give timely medication reminders, so your elderly loved one remains medication compliant.
Elderly individuals who suffer from Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, or any other condition are fully supported by our experienced caregivers. Our compassionate dementia caregivers discreetly assist seniors with incontinence issues, as well as help with grooming, bathing, dressing, and toileting.
A senior’s life is incomplete without senior home care from the professional caregivers at Assisting Hands Home Care. Our aim is to enhance the daily lives of our care recipients. In addition to daily support, our pleasant companionship brightens up the days of seniors in our care.
Seniors living in Winter Garden and Windermere, Florida, benefit from the dependable elder care services provided by Assisting Hands Home Care. Our services are flexible and customized to meet the unique needs of each elderly care recipient. Call us today to schedule a free in-home consultation.
