The environment for senior care has changed dramatically over the last few years. Not just in how care is given, but in the facilities (or lack of) that are used too. Here are some of the areas in which senior care has changed recently. Just remember that changes never stop happening. As long as they are for the better, that’s okay. These trends will likely be the focus of those changes as they better adapt to this new frontier.
Technology
Technology has taken a big role in how care is given and managed. Daily medications can be managed by apps, alarms can be set for reminders on when to check on certain things, and doctor’s appointments can be scheduled by email. If you go into a nursing home or an assisted living facility, you will probably find that they have wireless internet, too. Not all seniors are tech savvy, but enough are, and enough family members are. This makes Wi-Fi a sound investment for these facilities.
Expansion
Senior care is now far more than a place that you go to. Senior care can come to you in many forms now. The biggest is in-home care, but there’s also respite care and hospice care, to name a few. In other words, there are many more choices for you to use today if you want to customize the care that your elderly loved one receives. In-home care is great because it is low stress, extremely cost effective, and helps your family members to retain more of their independence. Traditional methods of senior care couldn’t provide these features well.
Information
This is thanks in part to technology, but more is known than ever before about health, especially senior health. And because doctors and care providers can better share information, it’s far easier to make sure that each individual will get precisely the care that they need. This has helped make many of the stigmas associated with dementia disappear, too. For example, we know that just because someone has a great difficulty with communication does not mean that they are not hearing and understanding on some level. Yes, Alzheimer’s is frustrating, but it is something that is typically treated with much more compassion than ever before.
Focus
Today’s care environment has placed a more intent focus on individuals. Care is not a factory process, and it never should be treated in that way. Those that need help are people, and today’s senior care acknowledges this in a bigger way than ever before. Needs are not the only thing provided for, but wants, desires, and wishes are all taken into account when the best senior care is being applied.
What to Expect
In the future, these trends are likely to continue, and they may manifest into new types of care, or at least different versions of the care that we now see. This is to be expected as things change over time. As long as the care that’s being given is adequately meeting needs and people are happier, then change can be a productive thing.
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