Some experts are demanding that the U.S. rethink how senior care is approached on a larger scale. Because of the many care homes that have been hit so hard by the coronavirus, alternatives to the traditional nursing home model are being sought.
One of the methods being discussed? In-home care.
For those that are unfamiliar, in-home care is non-medical care that is received in the home. A senior has a caregiver come to their location and help them with everyday tasks like eating, bathing, getting around the house, cleaning up, and more. These are things that can easily be provided for in the setting of a nursing home or an assisted living facility, but they don’t need to be. Additionally, in-home care is a lot cheaper than the use of a nursing home because it provides only the level of care needed, and not ongoing medical supervision.
The big concern that has arisen is that in group setting, illnesses like COVID-19 can run rampantly through the population. When we’re talking about a group of people that likely already have compromised immune systems, like what we see with senior citizens, having a large group of people can be a disaster. It’s why we’re seeing so many senior homes around the country being hit so hard by the coronavirus.
Keeping seniors in a place where they are less vulnerable and with people that they already love can help to minimize this risk. It’s one of the big benefits of in-home care that has come to light during this time.
This is something that those of us that are proponents of in-home care have been saying for a long time. When we allow seniors to stay in the place that is most comfortable for them for longer periods of time, we allow them to live a higher quality of life and get a more helpful level of care at the same time. In-home care is designed to meet seniors where they are and give them exactly the amount of help that they need. It doesn’t ask them to make undue sacrifices by moving away from the people and places that they love. It doesn’t place them at an unnecessary risk of illness or dementia by putting them in a strange place. It gives them what they need right where they already are.
In-home care isn’t for everyone, but a lot of people that don’t have access to it would really benefit from it. A lot of people would see that their care improves drastically by utilizing this type of service.
If you have a loved one that might benefit from in-home care, please let us know. We’d love to see how we can help you. We offer a free consultation service designed to help evaluate your loved one’s and your family’s needs, and then show you how in-home care would fit in with meeting those needs. There’s no obligation and no pressure. Our goal is to help your loved ones live the life that they deserve as they age.
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