At home, a senior feels most comfortable with the environment. The significant factor of receiving care at home depends on the level of need by a person. For example, does one need nursing or medical care? If so, home care is not the best choice. If medical care is not an issue, then a professional caregiver through a private hire or a non-medical home care agency would suffice.

Adult children of seniors serve as primary caregivers to the ill or elderly loved ones. In-home care assistance (through private hire or home care agencies) allow family caregivers to carry own with their life priorities like work, child care, spousal relationship, and more time for self.

In general, receiving non-medical home care reduces unavoidable hospital readmission, and research show that individuals are recuperating from illness, injury, or surgery heal more quickly when recovering at home instead of a medical facility.

Benefits of Home Care

In many cases, it’s the most satisfying form of senior care and sometimes more affordable than other types of care. There are lots of other reasons for the growing demand for our services, too.

Home Care is Popular

Home care offers a person with individual needs to stay home. The services might be for people who are getting older, who are chronically ill, who are recovering from surgery, who live with a disability. Home care services include:

• Personal care, like help with bathing, washing hair, shaving, or getting dressed.
• Homemaking, like cleaning the house, yard work, and laundry.
• Cooking, meal preparation, shopping, picking up medications, or delivering meals.
• Health care services from a home health aide.

You can get almost any type of assistance at home that you want or need. Some services are free or given by volunteers. Many others you have to pay for out-of-pocket. Sometimes community-based services, offered by local or the state government, covers the cost of care.

Home Care services vary from simple companion care to more complex personal care needs and monitoring. The primary benefits offered include:

• Delivered in the comfort of home
• Promotes healing
• Provides a safe place for contagious infections
• Easier for family and friends to visit
• Allows freedom and independence
• More affordable than inpatient care (recovery care) at a nursing facility or hospital
• Tailored to specific needs of each person
• Person-centered care designed for needs of the senior
• Reduces re-hospitalizations
• Prevents or postpones institutional living

Protects Personal Freedom

Once the transition to a health care facility occurs, particularly nursing home, a senior gives up a significant amount of freedom. So, if a loved one can remain at home safely with some level of care, they’ll maintain more privacy and dignity. And they can “call the shots” to a greater extent about their personal choices regarding meals, schedules and other activities of daily living.

Better Health

When a loved one is aging and has an acute or chronic illness, it is critical that they receive appropriate nutrition, medication, rest, and medical supervision. For many people, home health care workers can help loved ones maintain their level of wellness for a longer period.

Research shows that home health care services:

• Improve clients’ ability to walk or move around,
• Get in and out of bed and have less pain when moving around,
• Improve bladder control,
• Get better at bathing,
• Become short of breath less often,
• Require less urgent, unplanned medical care in general and related to a wound.

Saves Money

Compare the costs to what you would pay for a loved one to live in a nursing home or assisted living facility.

A typical home health care visit occurs in a two to four block of time two to three times a week.

Provides Companionship

Studies show that people living with chronic illness or disability, living at home is often the best option for physical and mental well-being. It’s difficult to quantify the advantages of companionship for someone needing home care, but research indicates that social isolation can do as much harm to someone’s health as smoking.

The National Institute of Mental Health noted that in 2004, nearly 16% of suicide deaths were individuals over 65 years of age.Isolation and quietness take over in environments that once were lively with children, pets, and neighbors in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Reduces Stress for Client and Loved Ones

Home Care services benefit a senior who has more needs than family members can provide due to work, or need time away from care responsibilities. Home care staff can help families to avoid missing family time, children’s activities, and declining career opportunities.

If you’re considering home care services, ask the following questions that help finding the best provider for your needs.

If you’re recovering from surgery or need long-term care for chronic illness, or you have a loved one facing a similar situation, home care offers medical and household care.