Not everybody knows what senior companion care is. Many of those who are aware of what it is, do not understand how helpful it can be. This article will look at the true value of senior companion care.
What Is Senior Companion Care?
When you think of senior care in your mind, what does that look like? A caregiver helping a senior get out of bed in the morning? Helping them get up and downstairs or helping them get around in a wheelchair? Helping them in the bathroom? All these tasks fall under the umbrella of personal care. Personal care helps seniors accomplish what we at Executive Home Care call the “Activities of Daily Living”. These are the everyday tasks we all must do to take care of ourselves.
But personal care is not the only form of senior care. For example, there are homemaking services. Many seniors can take care of themselves but vacuuming their carpets or going grocery shopping are more difficult. And there are less tangible matters with which seniors need help, too. For example, many seniors face mental health challenges. Senior companion care helps to ease the isolation, loneliness, and depression that many seniors face.
How Senior Companion Care Works.
Senior companion care improves the lives of seniors via social interaction. Seniors live in isolation at higher rates than other demographics. Over seventy years or so, people tend to move around. Many seniors find themselves living their retirement years in cities and towns where they don’t have many, if any, family and friends. This can be especially dangerous for seniors who live alone, but even couples can become isolated together. This can lead to loneliness which can lead to depression which can lead to myriad other problems, both mental and physical.
Senior companion care can be as simple as a caregiver visiting a senior for a few hours every week and talking to them. Senior companion caregivers listen their clients’ concerns, play card games and board games with them, help them keep up with correspondence, and encourage them to get outside and be social (in a way that is not potentially dangerous during the COVID-19 pandemic). While not therapists, by simply listening to seniors’ concerns, caregivers can really help them. Senior companion caregivers can also keep an eye out for any signs of declining cognitive function, such as symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases.
Executive Home Care
Executive Home Care offers in-home senior companion care. Even for seniors who do live in cities with friends and family, senior companion care can still be beneficial because seniors often don’t feel comfortable talking about their problems with their family. To learn more, please contact us via our website or call (888) 963-9133.