Recently, a series of talks regarding aging in place in Michigan have occurred. Citing the insecurities that the COVID pandemic has uncovered, care professionals around the state–with the assistance of AARP–have begun discussing ways to help more seniors stay in their homes for longer.
Nutrition, mental health, staying close to loved ones, and memory care have been big topics of discussion in these talks. How the State of Michigan will move forward to help its seniors is still unclear, but these conversations seem like a good starting point for raising awareness and finding potential solutions.
In-home care is an ideal choice for many. A lot of the people that are currently receiving more intensive care, like what you would find in a skilled nursing facility, do not actually need that higher level of care. Something in the home, providing support around the current way of life, would be much more appropriate.
This is one of the big reasons why what is happening in states like Michigan is so important. Normalizing the use of in-home care around the country opens up a lot of potential opportunities for better senior care moving forward. Here are a few of the immediate benefits to this.
- The reduction of cost. Nursing home costs can be very expensive, depending on where you live. The average cost of a nursing home stay for a year in the U.S. is around $95,000. The average cost of in-home care is about half of this, depending on frequency, needs, and location.
- Personalized care. One of the big benefits of in-home care over other types of care is that help is given with a one on one emphasis. There is one person receiving care one one caregiver. There isn’t a caregiver who is responsible for multiple people and having their attention pulled in several directions at once. The personalized nature of in-home care also allows for specialization. If a loved one is dealing with dementia, a caregiver that specializes in memory care is going to be the most helpful for you.
- Companionship. In-home care allows seniors to be helped where they want to be most–their own homes. But even if they are here, there are still factors working against them. Loneliness can be a big hindrance to mental health, but when a loving caregiver is helping, there is a friend built into their lives. This is one of the “hidden” benefits of in-home care. It’s not just senior care, it’s a close friend coming to visit.
In-home care has a lot to offer seniors and families. And now that we have seen many of the weaknesses in the care system more clearly because of COVID related issues, in-home care is being embraced on a wider scale than ever before. This is good news for a lot of people.
Still, in-home care isn’t right for everyone. If you’re unsure about what’s best for your family’s unique situation, please reach out to someone for more guidance. A trained professional will be able to give you more direction and help you to determine what’s going to be the best option for the people that you care about.
This is one of the things that we offer as a free service. We offer consultation sessions to help families better determine what the right course of action is for their loved ones when it comes to care.
We’d love to help you and your family out, too. Feel free to give us a call today to get started.
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