Companion Care Services: FAQs, Benefits, & Highlights
When it comes to caring for an elderly loved one, you obviously want to ensure that your parent, grandparent, or other beloved senior is healthy, happy, and well cared for. While you have many options for care, it can be difficult to decide which is best.
An assisted living facility or a nursing home can offer round-the-clock care, but the senior in your life would probably rather stay at home, in familiar surroundings and close to loved ones. On your own, however, you might not be able to provide the care and companionship your elderly family member needs, especially if you’re already stretched to the limit with your own job, family, and household.
This is where companion care services could really save the day. You might have many questions about such services. What, exactly, is companion care services? What type of care is provided? Can my elderly relative choose a caregiver he/she feels comfortable with? What are the benefits of choosing companion care services?
It’s a great idea to ask all of these questions so that you’re satisfied your loved one will receive the best possible care. Here are some answers to these frequently asked questions that should help you decide.
What Can I Expect from Companion Care Services?
It’s important to understand that companion care services are just part of the larger umbrella of in-home care. Whereas in-home care may include services like personal care (bathing, dressing, grooming, and bed and wheelchair transfer, for example), as well as recovery care, transportation, light housekeeping, meal prep, and implementing doctor-prescribed regimens, companion care services are something more.
It’s all too easy for seniors living on their own to become lonely, depressed, and isolated, especially if they’re house-bound or suffer from limited mobility issues. As a family member, you do your best to spend quality time with your elderly loved one, but it’s not always easy with the pressing demands of your daily life, including a job and your own family and household. This is where companion care services shines.
A caregiver can be a frequent and long-term companion for your elderly loved one, someone who becomes like a member of the family. Companies that offer companion care services work with seniors and families to find a good personality fit so seniors feel comfortable with their caregivers. This can provide them with opportunities to socialize and remain active, both physically and mentally.
Benefits of Companion Care Services
There are many benefits to be gained by choosing in-home companion care services for elderly loved ones. First and foremost, patients are able to remain in familiar surroundings, close to their families. In addition, many grow close with their caregivers.
One of the greatest benefits of companion cares services is the chance for seniors to socialize. In addition to socializing with a caregiver in the comfort of home, seniors will have opportunities to remain active within the community.
Companions can provide transportation, which is especially important to seniors that are no longer able to drive on their own. This could allow them to continue enjoying social activities such as visiting family member and friends, attending social events or maintaining group memberships, or joining classes.
Is your elderly loved one missing out on cooking or art classes he/she used to love? What about regular luncheons with friends, or group activities like dances or yoga classes? Companion caregivers can transport seniors in their care, and in many cases, help to plan activities that their patients will enjoy.
Companions can also help elderly patients to remain spry, both physically and mentally. They can encourage seniors to participate in appropriate physical activities that help them to remain healthy, fit, and energetic. In addition, caregivers can work on maintaining or even improving cognitive abilities with games and other mentally challenging activities. This is good for all seniors, and especially those coping with conditions like Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Best of all, companions can keep elderly loved ones emotionally healthy, and help to relieve the stress and burden placed on family members trying to provide care on their own. If you want the best possible living situation and quality of life for your elderly loved ones, companion care services deliver on every level.
If you think an in-home caregiver might benefit your family, contact Family Matters In-Home Care for a free consultation. Our caregivers are thoughtfully selected to ensure that their skills and personalities will be the best possible fit for your loved one. We have seen many of our caregivers develop meaningful relationships with clients, and we strongly believe that these friendships have a positive effect on their overall health and well-being.
