What is Home Care Assistance?
The aging process is a natural and expected part of living a full life. That said, the physical changes that come with aging can create some hurdles that eventually need to be faced by families.
Seniors and children of aging parents typically begin to see physical limitations with age that impact daily living standards in the home. There may also be new health factors to consider.
Knowing how to approach these changes can feel complicated. Fortunately, understanding home care assistance options can make it easier.
What Is Home Care Assistance? A Closer Look
For many seniors, the ability to remain in the home they know and love is an important part of aging comfortably and confidently. That can be a nerve-wracking prospect for adult children when considering the risk of falls and injury their parents may endure while living independently. That’s where home care assistance can be a helpful option.
Exactly what is home care assistance? This is a question posed by many families with aging parents looking to maintain their freedom and preferred lifestyle throughout their golden years.
Home care assistance pairs seniors with an in-home caregiver. This professional is responsible for assisting seniors with daily tasks and chores that may be too complex to handle alone.
Many seniors are still able to take care of a long list of home tasks and chores. However, home care assistance takes the worry out of tasks and chores that could potentially put a senior at risk.
Those wondering “what is home care assistance?” will find that it’s divided into two types. There’s care that revolves around medical assistance and care that revolves around home tasks. Initially, many seniors only require help with chores in the home, but the option to move towards medical assistance is always available too.
Type of Assistance Non-Medical Caregivers Can Provide in the Home
There are a variety of tasks and help that a non-caregiver can provide seniors in the comfort of their own homes. They can include everything from laundry and errands to cooking, cleaning, and even transportation to appointments of all types.
Feeding, grooming, dressing (personal care), and mobility assistance can also be a part of a home care assistant’s responsibilities. In many cases, home care assistance requires a helper to monitor a senior’s medical condition to report any changes to the family.
Home care assistance can be set up as either a part-time or full-time program. It may be as general as helping seniors with taking care of pets (See: Benefits of Pet Interaction for Seniors). It could be as specialized as pairing up seniors with home care providers who work with early-stage Alzheimer’s or Dementia. No matter the case, home care assistance is customizable to every senior’s and family’s experience.
The Many Benefits of Home Care Assistance
Once adult children of aging parents can answer the question of home care assistance, they can evaluate the many benefits. In the majority of cases, home care assistance provides incredible support for seniors and provides family members with the peace of mind they deserve.
Having someone in a senior’s home to take care of some basic tasks reduces the overall risk of injury. It also provides adult children of those seniors with the freedom to spend more one-on-one time with their aging parents instead of taking care of chores whenever they’re over at the house.
From a social perspective, home care assistance can provide seniors with companionship they might not otherwise have access to at this time of life. Developing these friendships can improve overall health standards both physically and mentally.
How Does In-Home Care Help Seniors Age in Place?
Aging in place requires the ability to adapt quickly. Home care assistance provides a seamless transition for seniors who need help but want to remain immersed in familiar surroundings.
During this season of life, both mental and physical changes are significant. Having a professional caregiver helps families pinpoint these changes in real-time and adjust care needs as necessary.
Overall, home care assistance provides seniors living in their homes with a renewed and lasting sense of freedom. Yes, the pace of life may be slower, but with help, physical limitations don’t have to be scary or incapacitating.
