Over the course of the last several years, I have used the phrase “great care” or the “best care” many times throughout this blog. I’ve been thinking over the last few weeks about what this really means. What makes for “great” senior care? What really is the “best care?”
Like many other aspects of care, it really depends on the situation that you and your family are experiencing. What is great for one situation isn’t necessarily going to be great for everyone. It’s a subjective term. But, even with that in mind, there are some universals that people should be looking for when it comes to care.
My goal here isn’t to point you toward the best care for your unique situation, but rather to identify some things that you should look for–regardless of the type of care that is needed. If you’re looking for the specific type of care setup that will benefit your family, feel free to give us a call and schedule a free consultation. Whatever that might be, hopefully this list will help give you some guidance.
Comfort: High quality care should revolve around making the person receiving care comfortable. This isn’t to be confused with palliative care, which doesn’t pay much attention to other needs, but focuses primarily on end of life comfort. Oftentimes, senior caregivers focus on just meeting basic needs. This, of course, must happen in care. But it should be done in a way that makes the person receiving the help comfortable. Compassionate, gentle, loving care achieves this. That’s why family caregivers play such a strong role in the process–they can do this better than any professional can.
Empathy: Not many caregivers can say that they’ve experienced exactly what an elderly individual in need of care is going through. They may have seen family or other individuals that they work with go through these struggles, but it will be really tough to find a caregiver that has been through it themselves. However, this isn’t necessary for a caregiver to have empathy for the situation. Having a caregiver that cares might seem like an obvious thing, but it truly can make a world of difference. An empathetic caregiver will go above and beyond for the people they care for because they genuinely want the best for them.
Professionalism: Senior care doesn’t necessarily need to be paid for, professional care. But regardless of who or how it is administered, there should be a level of professionalism to how the care is given. Whether that’s the care and attention of a family member, or a care facility. Professionalism in care shows respect and dignity to the person in need. Professionalism is also reliable and timely. It does what it says it will do, when it’s supposed to be done by.
Your family deserves the best senior care possible. My hope is that this short list can give you an idea of what to be on the lookout for. The type of care that you need will vary, but this list should remain constant regardless of what’s best for your unique situation.
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