When you think of senior care, what is your first thought? Whatever it might be, you are probably not considering many of the new and changing faces that this industry has seen. First, consider that the senior citizen population is bigger right now than it ever has been before. There are far more elderly people in our society for a variety of reasons, and there have been many changes to senior care to help accommodate for this fact. Senior care is far more flexible than it ever has been, and there are many new styles that simply didn’t exist 20 years ago.
And there are many other styles that did exist 20 years ago, but are now not considered strange or different types of care. They are now considered mainstream and normal. In the end, the people that benefit are those that are getting the perfect type of care for their needs and the families whose lives are made a tiny bit more comfortable knowing that their elderly loved ones are getting the right care and attention. Do you know which camp your family falls under?
In fact, it should be pretty easy to know the answer to this question. If your loved one is happy, despite their physical limitations, then it’s clear that they are getting what they need. This is an extreme example, of course, since not all people receiving the best care will be happy, but this is a good starting point. If they are not happy, what can you do to fix it? Sometimes, it’s a little change, like bringing a professional in-home caregiver into their home. Sometimes, it requires more intensive attention.
The next question to ask yourself is: are you and your family happy with the care being applied? Nobody wants an elderly loved one to suffer, and nobody wants to give their mom or dad less than the best. Knowing what’s right and what isn’t takes some research, and it takes some knowledge of what their physical and mental needs are. This is a good starting point for you, and if you are happy with these needs being met, plus the cost and convenience of the care, then you are well on your way to finding something that works for everyone.
If you are not happy with these things, there are steps that can be taken to fix this. First, focus on the necessities. What does your parent need? There are a list of activities of daily living that meet the bare minimum criteria. These include things like bathing, grooming, mobility, using the bathroom, dressing, eating, and so on. These are the very basic things that everyone needs to do everyday, but we all know that there is more to life than this. The best type of senior care will take these things as a given, and then go way beyond them. Whether it’s in-home care, assisted living, or something else, the right senior care will make a world of difference in your loved one’s life.
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