If you have parents or elderly family members or loved ones who are beginning to slow down, perhaps showing some of the more concerning signs of aging, you’re probably wondering what the best way to help them is. Or, perhaps you yourself have reached retirement age and have begun to contemplate a future in which the everyday activities of living become difficult. What should you do? What is the best way to get seniors the added help they might need?
First, let’s discuss nursing homes and retirement facilities. These assisted living centers can be great for some, assuming they’re run by competent people and staffed by compassionate and invested workers, which many (but not all) are. Having said that, they do have a bit of a negative reputation. Many seniors will chafe at the idea of moving into an assisted care facility. While one can argue about the degree to which this negative connotation is deserved, the fact is plain and simple: people, especially seniors, don’t want to have to leave their homes. So, what’s the best option?
Care at Home
Thankfully, today we live in an era where seniors have more options than just a nursing home. There is care at home. Care at home is just what it sounds like: care that seniors can get in the comfort of their very own homes. This has several advantages. Most obviously, seniors don’t have to leave their homes and pack up their things for what is often a depressing move to a nursing home.
Beyond that, however, there are still more advantages. For one, because it involves care workers coming to the homes of seniors, the care provided is a bespoke type of care; it is specifically organized to help the senior in question. It’s not part of some one size fits all regimen. And care at home can involve a wide variety of different types of care, ranging from the simple and light to the complex and serious.
Care at home options
Perhaps you’re first thought is of a caregiver who comes to the homes of seniors and helps with things such as meal preparation, taking medication, and mobility. These, of course, are covered by care at home, but it can be much different than that if required. Perhaps a senior isn’t having trouble with their bodies so much as their homes. After all, taking care of one’s home can be very taxing and sometimes even dangerous for seniors. Well, with care at home, you can hire a caregiver to help specifically and primarily with homemaking tasks.
But some seniors need more help than with just the laundry. That’s OK, care at home caregivers can help with personal care as well. Tasks such as getting in and out of bed, getting in and out of wheelchairs, transportation to and from appointments, following prescribed exercise routines, meal preparation, and help with colostomy and ostomy bags can all be covered with care at home. You can even get a caregiver to help with seniors’ mental and emotional wellbeing. Seniors with no significant ailments whatsoever can still benefit from care at home with a companionship care plan.
If you would like to learn more about the care at home options available to you or your elderly loved one, please contact us today.