We spend a lot of time on this site talking about why in-home care can be superior to a nursing home. Most of the time, this is true. However, there are some occasions when in-home care just isn’t enough to help your elderly family member. It’s important that you are able to recognize when such a situation exists and that you know what to do about it.
First, realize that your loved one’s home might not be safe for them, and there might not be anything that you can do about it. There might be too many narrow, unsafe stairways, hallways that cannot be modified with handrails or fit a wheelchair or perhaps the bathtub doesn’t have room for a shower chair and rails to assist with getting in and out cannot be put in. There are a number of ways that a home could be rendered unsafe, and if this is the case, it is not a good idea for them to remain in the home. There might be other options besides a nursing home, like moving them into your home or that of a relative, or you may want to consider assisted living.
The second time that living in their own home with in-home care becomes a bad idea is when they have severe dementia. In these instances, unless attentive care can be given 24 hours a day, seven days each week, in-home care is not safe enough. Alzheimer’s patients become at a higher risk of dangerous behavior as their disease progresses. There’s a chance that they could hurt themselves within the home at night time or if they are unsupervised. There’s also a chance that they could get out of the house and become lost. All of these things are highly dangerous, and elderly people with advanced dementia find themselves at a much higher risk than normal of things like this. Staying in the home without proper around the clock help is not a good idea.
Another reason when in-home care just isn’t the right call is when it is unaffordable. The problem with this last point is that many people jump to this conclusion when it isn’t the right one. In most cases, people believe that they cannot afford in-home care because their insurance doesn’t cover it, so they just go where their insurance sends them; usually to a nursing home. And while this might be a viable option in some cases, this does not mean that it’s the best one. There are many community programs designed to help senior citizens afford the right care for them, especially for veterans. And many forms of Medicare supplements and Medicaid do now help out with in-home care. In-home care can be afforded by most people in today’s world, so unless there is absolutely no way to afford in-home care after you’ve exhausted all of the options, this isn’t a valid reason.
In-home care is best for most people, though. It provides superior one on one care when a professional caregiver is used and it is one of the cheapest forms of care out there. This should usually be your first thing to look at when looking for senior care for a loved one.
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