8 Benefits of Home Care for Seniors
You’re at work when you get the phone call. Your mom has fallen and injured herself. Rather you want to admit it or not, this is a clear sign that it’s time to consider some sort of senior care for her.
You love your mom and you want the best for her so that leaves you with a choice. Should you try and get her into an assisted living home, or opt for in-home care? While they’re both perfectly good options, there are a few benefits that in-home care have over assisted living.
We’re going to go over all of these benefits of home care to help you make your decision and get your mom the care she needs before something worse than falling happens.
1. They Get to Remain Independent
One of the main complaints seniors have when you start to talk to them about assisted living is losing their independence. If you have someone come in and care for your parent then they won’t have to change much about their daily life.
They can stick to the same schedule and sleep, eat, and socialize whenever they want. There is also just something about being around the familiar aspects of the home that makes treatment more comfortable.
The familiar surroundings coupled with being able to sleep in their own bed can actually help with memory conditions like dementia.
2. Being Connected to Loved Ones
Assisted living homes have certain visiting times that loved ones have to adhere to. In-home senior care does not. You can visit your parent whenever you want without restriction.
Also with in-home care, you can be a part of your parent’s treatment plan. This means you can help out with giving them their medications, have a helping hand in any physical therapy, you can even have a say in their dietary care. Being able to have you around more often and be a larger part of their life will be a huge factor in their treatment.
3. More Personalized Care
Are you concerned about the nurse to patient ratio in assisted living facilities? If you decide on in-home care, you can throw this worry out the window. Your parent will receive constant one-on-one care with a trained professional.
This means that if something happens, there will be someone who is instantly able to be there. Also, with assisted living homes your parent will have to get used to their schedule. With in-home care, the personnel adjusts themselves to the schedule your parent already runs off of.
4. Companionship
The in-home personnel becomes more than just a nurse who stays with your parent to take care of them. They’re a companion. A familiar face that they see every day that keeps them company and talks to them.
While there are nurses and other seniors in assisted living homes, it’s not as personal. There are different people on shift every day and seniors are constantly rotating in and out. It’s hard to have a connection that sticks.
5. Faster Recovery Time
When seniors are healing around the comforts of home, surrounded by photos and other things that make them happy, they recover a lot faster. This is because happiness plays a huge factor in health. Seniors that are in assisted living homes are a lot more prone to depression.
Even the cleanest facility can harbor some bacteria. Being at home helps to reduce the possibility of sickness and cuts down their risk of some type of infection.
6. It’s Cheaper
While sending your parent to a home can help them and does actually have its benefits, they are expensive. In-home care is cheaper because you’re usually charged by the hour. This sounds costly but there is actually a lot more flexibility involved with payment.
If your parent needs 24-hour care, most of the time you can get a discounted rate. Still, don’t like the idea of paying by the hour? Most insurance companies will cover it.
7. More Peace of Mind for You
When your parent is in a home, you have no way of knowing what happens when you’re not there. That’s enough to make some loved ones a little bit nervous, to say the least. However, if you don’t do something then you’re worried about them hurting themselves by falling in the shower or driving to the store to get their groceries.
You can defeat this worry by having someone in your parent’s home that is constantly taking care of them when you can’t. You’ll be able to call them and get updates whenever you want and again, pop over to your parent’s house whenever you want to check up on them.
8. They Get to Have Their Pets
Most senior homes don’t allow them to bring their pets along. This can be depressing especially since a lot of seniors rely on their furry friends for pleasant companionship.
By being able to stay at home, your parent will get to keep their pet with them. This may not sound like a big deal but pets have the power to help with loneliness, reduce heart diseases and even calm the symptoms of dementia.
If you’re worried about your parent being able to care for the animal this isn’t a problem. A lot of in-care personal will assist your parent in feeding the animal or cleaning out their litter box.
Benefits of Home Care Vs. a Facility
You want what’s best for your parent. While you can put them in a senior home, they may be able to heal easier by being able to stay on their own. There are many benefits of home care including you being able to be more involved with their health care. Go with in-home and have more peace of mind.
Has your parent been refused health insurance to cover their in-home care? Keep reading for everything you need to know to handle the issue.