As our loved and ones age, we desire that they age well and have the care we need to stay in our own homes as long as we can. No one wants to be the sibling, or child that has to put his or her family member into the nursing home. Increasingly this coupled with children’s busy lives and inability to care for parents and older siblings has led to an increase in the demand for elderly home care.
When deciding to bring a home care service in to the home to look after our loved ones, careful research needs to be completed. It is important to understand what the service costs, and what it can do and cannot do. At the same time it is also important to be realistic about the level of care our loved ones require. They may not need care beyond cleaning and some light cooking, and it is important for their long term health and wellbeing that they be able to do as much on their own as possible.
Some areas that are particularly important for home care to succeed include:
- Foot Care – One of the leading causes of an elderly individual losing their independence is reduced ability to walk due to poor foot health. This can take the form of improperly cut or ingrown nails. It is important to have a dynamic nursing service available to provide foot care nursing on a regular basis. Regular cleaning and cutting of the nails will improve the overall mobility of our elderly relatives. If these relatives resort to shuffling their feet due to ingrown nails, they are more likely to trip and fall breaking a hip and earning a one-way ticket to a nursing home.
- Quality Nursing – High quality elderly home care begins with the availability of high quality nursing services such as Dynamic Nursing. Such services are able to quickly respond to the changing needs of our elderly relatives and loved ones ensuring their evolving health needs are met throughout their later years.
- Monitoring – It is important for us to monitor the care our loved ones are getting. Frequent visits at irregular times keep homecare workers guessing as to when you will show up. Not knowing when they could be subject to inspection will lead the workers to do a better job.
- Home Preparation – Preparing the home of our elderly relatives for later year living should start early. It should involve a mature respectful conversation about this preparation and includes adding handlebars to bathtubs, installing tubs and showers that have easy access, and possibly moving to a new home without stairs. This home preparation will go a long way towards making sure it is a suitable place for your loved one to live for many years to come.
