Those of us that are new to looking for senior care have questions. There are certain things that people with an elderly loved one in need have, and they don’t want to make a final decision without having those questions answered satisfactorily. Here, we will discuss the two biggest questions that you might have, and go over what you can do to make sure that your family is being taken care.
Is this Type of Care Safe?
This is your biggest question, and it has many parts to it. First, look at the care itself. If you have an older loved one with Alzheimer’s and they have a history of wandering at night, senior care in an assisted living facility that doesn’t have any sort of security or locking mechanism on their door would not be safe. The same would be true about an individual in need of kidney dialysis. If they were located in a spot where it wasn’t easy to get their treatments on a regular basis, the care would not be safe, but rather life threatening. Physical needs must be accounted for, and all illnesses and disabilities should be addressed within that care plan.
The other side of this is the fact that when you are paying for senior care, you are entrusting your loved one to the care of someone else. Is that person a safe person for your family member to be around? There’s always a level of uncertainty, but the more you are able to trust the person or people caring for your mom or dad, the more peace of mind you will have. One way to do this is to go with a professional organization that provides background checks on their staff members before sending them out into the field (if you choose in-home care), insures all of their caregivers, and supplies them with plenty of training before they begin working alone with their assignments. You want someone that is trustworthy, both in their character and in their skillset.
How Will I Afford This?
Paying for senior care is a huge concern, simply because it is so expensive. But, it doesn’t need to be a huge expense for you. First, many families qualify for lowered costs in some way. There are programs out there that can help, such as Medicaid, Medicare, veterans benefits, or a wide array of senior care outreach experts and nonprofit organizations. If you have financial needs, there are many places for you to look for help.
The second way is to find an inexpensive service. The average cost of one year in a nursing home nationally is currently $91,000. That’s a lot of money by most standards. However, the average cost of a year of in-home care is less than half of this, and costs can be cut even further by customizing your care. You can set fewer hours per week if you want, focus just on weekends, or any of a number of ways that would lessen the work by the professionals.
Senior care is a priority, and you have good questions. Make sure you have good answers before you make your decision.
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