10 In-Home Care Services Benefits for Your Elderly Loved Ones
Choosing the type of care or assistance for your elderly loved one can be challenging, what with the many readily available options. While the first choice for most families is to find a good nursing home for their loved ones, many have now discovered the benefits of home care services for the elderly.
Home care services are provided to elderly persons in need of regular assistance but do not want to lose their independence. Personal home care assistance is also intended for your senior loved ones
with special needs, slowed down by a disability, has chronic illnesses, or recovering from an injury or illness. Service provided includes health care, personal care, and other types of care when necessary.
Although home care and home health care are two different things in some states, private care specialists are also considered in-home care medical providers. Home care services combine clinical and non-clinical tasks such as checking vital signs, monitoring nutrition, supervising medications, and assisting in daily activities like laundry, cooking, groceries, dish washing, and other light chores.
On the other hand, home health care is all about providing care for elderly loved ones with an illness or injury, similar to the kind provided in hospitals and nursing facilities. Examples of tasks and responsibilities are wound care, injections, and monitoring an injury or illness.
To give you a clear idea of how home care services can be the ideal option for your elderly loved one, here are 10 of its most significant benefits.
Home Care Services Benefits
1. Your elderly loved one gets to keep his independence.
Your elderly loved one may be one of the many who want to keep some of their independence as they advance in age. This is particularly true for seniors who live alone. Home care services offer this kind of freedom to your loved one and other elderly.
Professional and experienced private care providers will assist your loved one and allow him to continue living following the schedule he is used to and doing the activities he needs and values. Caregivers help him perform daily tasks such as cooking, eating, sleeping, and bathing. He can also continue with his social activities and weekly errands, but with the aid of a private home caregiver.
2. Your elderly loved one can stay in the comforts of his home.
Home care services allow your loved one to stay in his home and get all the care and attention he needs. It has been proven repeatedly that people feel better and heal faster when they are in a familiar place, surroundings, or environment.
Allowing your senior family member to stay home while someone provides the daily and clinical assistance he needs will help make him feel comfortable, safe, and secure. The familiarity and comfort of sleeping on his own bed, relaxing on his favorite couch, and continuing his daily activities are significant in making your loved one feel better and live happier and longer.
Familiar surroundings are essential if your elderly loved one has dementia and other memory-related conditions.
3. Your elderly loved one will remain close and connected to you and other family members.
If your elderly loved one is in a nursing home or other similar facilities, you won’t be able to visit him as regularly as you want. This will make him feel disconnected from you and the rest of the family.
Home care providers know it is important for your loved one to stay close and connected to you. There are no restrictions on visiting hours, and there are no rules on when you can visit. The communication lines are open.
Also, home care allows you to participate in the care of your elderly loved one. You’ll be constantly updated about his progress, and you can communicate directly with the caregiver and the home care provider.
4. Your elderly loved one will enjoy personalized care.
Compared to nursing homes, home care services provide more personalized, one-on-one care. You don’t have to worry about your elderly loved one being passed on from one nurse or caregiver to another.
Personalized care is also about giving your loved one a care plan that is created especially for him. The service and care he will get are tailored for his needs.
5. Your ill or injured elderly loved one will enjoy faster recovery.
The comfort, convenience, and familiarity of his home will help your elderly loved one recover fast from an injury or illness. He knows his surroundings and is confident to move around. His self-esteem is high because he knows where he is; he knows where to go and where certain things are kept. He knows where to sit down and relax. He won’t be surrounded by people he does not know.
Your loved one will recover faster because he won’t be exposed to germs and other sources of infections or illnesses, which is very common in medical facilities.
6. Your elderly loved one will benefit from the private caregiver’s care and companionship.
According to some studies and research, your elderly loved one needs regular social interaction for his health to be in its best condition. Even when you are not there every day to talk to him or do activities with him, you are comforted with the fact that his private home caregiver is with him at all times. This allows them to establish a connection, to build a strong relationship based on care and companionship.
7. Your elderly loved one can keep his pet – or get one.
If your elderly loved one has a pet that he treats like a family member, he won’t be able to bring his furry friend to the medical or nursing facility. If you hire home care providers, he’ll be home and can keep his pet.
Pet companionship offers a lot of benefits for the elderly. It can help your loved one relax, stay happy, and keep away negative thoughts and feelings. Pets are also a big help in reducing the risks of heart disease.
8. Your elderly loved one will receive ADL (Activities of Daily Living) support.
ADL or Activities of Daily Living are self-care activities that your elderly loved one does every day. The seven major ADLs are meal preparation and feeding, toileting, bathing and grooming, continence, functional transfers, and dressing/undressing. Home care providers will help your elderly loved one do all of this, providing him the assistance and encouragement he needs.
Being able to continue doing the activities mentioned above will help your loved one feel useful and confident.
9. Your elderly loved one will get proper nutrition and diet support and guidance.
Proper nutrition and the correct diet are essential for the overall well-being of your elderly loved one. Most home care providers include nutritional guidance and counseling. This is an assurance that your senior family member will have a healthy, balanced diet.
Instead of packaged food, your elderly loved one will enjoy nutrition-rich home-cooked dishes.
10. Home care service for your elderly loved one is cost-effective.
Home care providers offer flexible rates as most are charged on a per-hour basis. Part-time rates are also available for those looking for part-time in-home care. Some providers likewise accept affordable payment or insurance plans.
Medical, nursing, and residential facilities charge on a per-day basis, with rates averaging at more or less $550 per day. Home care service rates are anywhere from $24 to approximately $35 per hour.
If you want the best care for your elderly loved one, get in touch with a home care provider and check out the options available for you – and your senior family member.