There are several benefits to having an elderly loved one that lives with you receiving in-home care. This type of care is far cheaper than a nursing home or a hospital. In some instances, it is about the same cost as assisted living, but of the most commonly used forms of senior care, in-home care can typically not be beaten when it comes to the mixture of one on one attention and cost effectiveness. Also, there is research that indicates that seniors receiving in-home care tend to be healthier than when receiving other types of care. This goes for both physical and mental health. Seniors that are living at home with a family member and a professional caregiver watching over them often eat better, have more social interaction, and are more mentally stimulated. Of course, it is very possible to replicate all of these things in other types of care, but nowhere is it quite as easy to do as it is in in-home care.
Additionally, as a family member, there are benefits to you when a loved one has professional caregivers in the house helping provide care, too. We discussed some of these earlier in the week, but the bottom line is that it eases the burden on you so that you can provide better care when it’s time for you to. Whether you enlist the help of a fulltime caregiver, or just have a respite caregiver helping out once in a while on an as-needed basis, this is a service that can help improve not just the quality of your mom or dad’s life, but your own as well.
When this is the case, you are still acting as a caregiver some of the time. The difference is that there is someone else–a professional, in this instance–that is sharing those duties with you. This allows you to go to work, run errands, go to the movies, or whatever else it is you want to do, while the caregiver is on duty. In essence, it allows you to be a family caregiver, all while still maintaining your lifestyle. This is a must for many of those that are still working age and need to work in order to get by and help the rest of their family do the same. It is easy to think of hiring a professional to help as a shirking of duty, but really what you are doing is helping your family by continuing to provide for them.
What exactly does a caregiver do? Caregivers do a lot of different things, but essentially, they make sure that your elderly loved one makes it through the day safely. They help with meal preparation, transporting them and transferring them from room to room, they help with bathing and grooming needs, and they provide companionship. These are all things you would do if you were home, but by hiring professional caregivers, you are allowing someone that is qualified to help your parent, while you spend a few hours helping yourself and others in your family.
Leave a Reply