By 
When your aging loved one begins to require assistance with day-to-day activities, you may worry that the sterile walls of a nursing home is the next step. But that’s not necessarily the case. In fact, many elderly individuals can still live at home with just a little outside help from a home health aide.
What to Look for in a Senior Home Care Provider
When looking for the best senior home care provider, you can either select a private caregiver or a home care agency. Take the time to ask people you trust and those who have knowledge about home care providers what they think, such as your doctor, friends and family members, and members of your community. You could also read information and reviews about various agencies on the internet.
When considering an agency, you should find out how long they’ve been in business and if the agency is licensed. Not all states require home healthcare agencies to maintain a license, but it’s wise to seek an organization that has one. You should also inquire if the agency workers are licensed and insured and how they train new employees. You may want to speak with a representative of the company to discuss how their home health aides are monitored and what steps are taken to handle complaints. Find out what their turnover rate is and if you’d be matched with a single in-home caregiver or if your loved one would need to adjust to more than one aide.
Once you have narrowed down your choices, you can make an appointment to meet with an elderly home care representative who can answer any other questions you may have and assist you in deciding if that agency is right for your family’s situation.
Another option is to hire a private elderly home care attendant. You would be able to choose who you wanted and be sure that your loved one got along with that one individual, but you’d also be responsible for interviewing, firing (if it came to that), and payroll taxes. If you’d like to go this route, you would benefit from asking friends, those in your community, and local senior organizations if they recommend any private caregivers. You may also find in-home caregivers through online postings and local college and nursing schools that offer CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) or HHA (Home Health Aide) programs.
Once you locate someone who seems well-qualified, you’ll want to do a background check on them. You may also need to get liability coverage and workmen’s compensation insurance. When interviewing potential senior home care aides, you’ll want to ask some important questions, such as:
– What are your credentials? Be sure to verify the candidate’s claims.
– Who are your former clients? Ask for contact information so that you can speak to two or three of the individual’s former clients. Ask about their work ethic, their compassion, and why they were let go.
– Are you constitutionally eligible to work in the United States? Request verifying documents, such as a passport or green card.
Now that you know how to find an elderly home care aide, you should consider other measures for keeping your loved one in their own home.
Simple Interventions to Keep Seniors in Home Care Rather Than in a Nursing Home
The goal of any aging senior citizen is to remain independent in their own home. While we may think that the onset of illness or declining health could be the trigger that sends us packing, it’s actually how we handle those conditions. According to Forbes, “relatively small changes in living spaces and daily strategies can keep [seniors] out of nursing facilities for months or even years.”
The Forbes article discusses how a Baltimore-based research project – known as CAPABLE, which is an acronym for Community Aging in Place, Advancing Better Living for Elders – is working to keep aging seniors in their own homes. CAPABLE is using $4,000 to send handymen, nurses, and occupational therapists into the home of a low-income elderly citizen to see how long the sum can help him, along with the hundreds of other aging seniors in the project, remain at home. The changes made by the project are similar to what you can do in your loved one’s home to help them maintain independence, too.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer, so you should start by asking your parent or loved one what their biggest day-to-day struggle is. CAPABLE found that little things, such as walking down the steps or getting into the bathtub, are what end up destroying a senior’s independence. Look into issues like:
– Staggering medication throughout the day instead of all at once, which can leave someone disoriented and fatigued
– Learning simple exercises to gain strength and improve mobility
– Identifying risks within the home, like raising the toilet seat, adding railings to stairs, replacing missing floor tiles, and adding night lights in dark hallways
– Providing kitchen tools to help make cooking easier, such as jar openers, reaching sticks, magnifying glasses, slip-resistant mats, etc.
– Improving tubs and showers by adding grip bars, secure bath mats, and shower seats
Many seniors feel stuck in their homes and are lonely. Look into your city’s volunteer or elderly transportation services so that your loved one can still attend church, go to the store, or visit with friends. Consider getting them a pet. Even something as simple as a goldfish can not only provide company, but can also allow your loved one to feel like a responsible adult again. Hire a senior home care aide to assist with light housework, errands, and medication, as well as provide companionship that your parent wants and needs.
“We see housing as a part of health care,” says CAPABLE project leader Sarah Szanton, Ph.D., an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. “What one can do is a function of where one lives, so the home is a place worthy of health-care investment.”
Benefits of Senior Home Care Over a Nursing Home
The decision to move your loved one to a nursing facility is a big one that requires major lifestyle changes for both you and your parent. Consider the following benefits of elderly home care as opposed to nursing home living:
One: Comfort
The first benefit to come to anyone’s mind is comfort. A house is a home. It is filled with memories and each room is familiar. Who doesn’t want to sleep in their own bed, use their own bathroom, and sit in their favorite chair?
Two: Personalized Care
Senior home care agencies offer personalized plans for each patient. Your loved one won’t need to change their schedule to fit that of patients within a nursing facility. Instead, an experienced elderly home care aide will meet their needs on their time frame.
Three: One-on-One Attention
At a nursing home, there are hundreds of patients that the nursing staff must care for, but in-home care has a one-to-one ratio of patient to nursing aide. A senior caregiver can provide your loved one with their undivided attention, meeting their needs quickly and ensuring that they are safe, comfortable, and happy.
Four: Independent Living
Keeping their independence is a top priority for most seniors, and elderly home care aides afford them that possibility. Nursing home living limits their ability to live by their schedule, choose their own meals, go to bed when they want, and go out when they’d like. If your loved one has limited mobility or is unable to go out socially, an outstanding in home caregiver can drive them to social events and help them run errands.
Five: Companionship
Loneliness is a major complaint of aging seniors. With the inability to attend local events and the feelings of social isolation, elderly citizens can possibly fall into depression and experience a decline in health because of it. A senior home care aide, however, can provide the daily interaction and companionship that your loved one needs.
Finding the right elderly home care helper can take time and persistence, but doing so – along with making improvements to your loved one’s home – can result in maintaining their independence for longer. Hiring a senior home care aide can not only improve your parent’s freedom and allow them to maintain their own schedule and lifestyle, but it can help them stay comfortable and happy in their own home.
Comments