Keep Your Elderly Loved Ones In Their Own Homes
You may have concerns that your elderly parents are no longer able to manage their home the same way they were able to when they were younger. If your parents are not as self-sufficient as they once were, it does not automatically mean that you should relocate them to a long term nursing care facility. Instead, your parents should be able to happily remain in their home for as long as possible. Fortunately, there are senior home care assistance agencies and caregivers that are dedicated to providing this type of care for your elderly loved ones.
Define Your Elderly Loved Ones’ Needs
The first thing that you should do is determine whether your parents have health care needs or personal care needs. Health care needs include medication assistance, wound care and special equipment assistance. Personal care needs include eating, dressing, toileting and bathing.
Your loved one may also need additional assistance, such as household help. Laundry, light housekeeping, cleaning and shopping are some of the chores that a senior home assistance caregiver can complete. The personalized combination of needs that your loved ones have will determine the type of home assistance they will need to receive.
Using an Agency to Find Senior Home Assistance
A quick online search will yield several home care and senior home care agencies in your area. These agencies will assess your elderly parents’ needs. The agency will then match them with the best professional caregiver suited to provide in-home assistance. Although the cost of using an agency can cost more than hiring a private caregiver directly, there are several benefits to hiring a caregiver through an agency. Some of the benefits are:
- All paperwork is handled by the agency.
- The agency provides alternate caregivers in case of an emergency.
- The agency can provide another caregiver if the relationship with the current caregiver does not work out.
Although the topic of conversation can be difficult, it is best to discuss senior home assistance as an option. The family should discuss this decision not only with your loved ones, but also with their primary physician. In addition, you should discuss this decision with their social worker and anyone who is involved in the overall health, well-being and care of your parents. By involving everyone into the discussion, the transition to in-home care will go smoothly. If you are ready to help keep your loved ones at home, contact a local senior home assistance company today.