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The Benefits Of Aging In Place
Having a caregiver come into the home on a full or part time basis to assist a senior can be a great way to delay or prevent the need for a move to an assisted living facility or nursing home. The benefit of home care is that your loved ones can stay in their home longer and continue to maintain a more independent lifestyle with daily or occasional help from a caregiver. By staying home they are able to extend the amount of time they have with family and friends in a familiar and safe environment.
Another specific benefit is that home care aides provide direct one-on-one care and assistance in the comfort of a person’s home which allows them to continue to age in place or recover from an illness.
When working with an agency a customized personal care plan is established with input from the patient as well as the family.
Be very specific with the agency you choose, quality of care provided will depend on the amount of detail you are able to share about the person’s likes and dislikes, schedule and daily medical needs. All of those details should be taken into consideration when a plan of care is developed by an agency and then followed by a caregiver.
Apart from the care plan, a successful homecare experience is largely dependent on the relationship established between the caregiver, the one being cared for and the family.
Make sure the plan of care covers everything you need done while you are not there. Keep in mind that non-medical assistance such as laundry, linen changes, meals, transportation and light cleaning can have just as much of a positive impact as personal care. In fact, having a caregiver accomplish non-medical tasks for the patient in lieu of the family goes a long way to free up family members to spend additional quality time with their loved ones.
From a cost perspective, home care, assisted living communities, and nursing homes are all paid for privately through personal funds. Home care is the only option that prevents or delays the need to make a large financial commitment usually funded by selling a home and most of a person’s personal belongings. Aging in place with assistance in the home is much cheaper if all you need is a few hours a day to accomplish activities of daily living. At least explore home care as an option when the time comes. You may be surprised at what you find.
