As parents enter their twilight years and beyond, their children must often consider how to provide them with the best possible quality of life, while allowing them to maintain their independence and dignity, and remain in their homes where they are most comfortable. Additionally, as their resources become more finite, learning how to stretch their retirement and medical care dollars even further is another challenge with which many are faced. The answer to all of this can be found in senior home care.
Hourly or Live-in?
One of the first decisions to make, is whether you are going to opt for hourly or live-in care. In many instances, seniors merely require a little bit of assistance with daily chores, errands and meal preparation, yet family members are not available to provide it on an ongoing basis. Others may require help with getting dressed, medication reminders or transportation to appointments. For these folks, hourly help should be sufficient. Others are not fully ambulatory, are unsteady on their feet or may be starting to suffer from dementia. For those, a live-in aide may be more appropriate. Budget is always a consideration, of course, but a skilled nursing facility may cost more than live-in assistance.
Level of Care
The next consideration is the level of care required. Senior home care agencies can offer a variety of care levels from simple companionship all the way up to hospice care. In cases where simple errands, meal preparation and chores are the only requirements, a simple companion or homemaker aide will suffice. If more intense care is required a CNA, LPN or RN may be required. Taking of vitals, assistance with personal care and medication administration may be some of the determining factors in the level of nurse sent to care for your loved ones. Other factors that may determine the level of nurse dispatched to the home include mental capacity, ambulatory ability, whether wound or colostomy care is required, necessity for medical advocacy and stage of life.
Hospice Care
Many senior home care agencies offer hospice services as well, which are geared towards creating a safe, comfortable environment for the patient, while allowing them to prepare for the end of their lives, spend time with their families and get their affairs in order. Of all of the types of home care, this is the most specialized, and though the importance of spending their final days surrounded by familiar things and loved ones is understood, the safety and comfort of the patient is deemed far the main purpose of this service.
Regardless of the level of care required, Business Name can help you. Please visit www for information about the services they provide. /You can also follow them on Twitter.
