Home health care is a rapidly rising trend among older people who do not want to live in a nursing or retirement facility. The great advances in home care have even made it possible for people with serious illnesses like Alzheimer’s Disease to stay at home and be cared for by trained nursing staff instead of being institutionalized. In fact, a reputable home health care company can provide some of the best-trained, most capable caregivers that help seniors stay in their own homes. There are three big reasons why seniors who live at home tend to be happier and healthier.
They are:
- Feeling younger longer
- Familiar surroundings
- Independence and individualized care
The Importance of Feeling Young
Age is more than a chronological fact, it is a mind-set. There are senior citizens that can physically accomplish almost what a young adult can, and it is mostly because they feel young. Age has a way of creeping up on people and making them want to just give up. Being cared for at home can help a person keep feeling young as long as possible. Someone who has minor memory issues, for example, may need a nurse to come in and administer their pills while needing very little less. A nursing home is more of a complete-care setting, and is not really designed to let residents do for themselves.
Familiar Surroundings
Almost everyone is going to be happier in their own homes, and that probably goes double for elderly people who have spent decades in those buildings. This is especially important, though, to people with dementia or other mind-altering health problems. Being surrounded by familiar things can be the difference between total confusion and simply fogginess. It can also make a big difference in attitude. Alzheimer’s sufferers are especially prone to fits of violence due to their altered state. It has been shown that familiar objects can keep them calmer for longer periods of time.
Independence and Individualized Care
It has been proven that giving a senior as much independence as they can safely handle is essential to their quality of life. Nursing homes and retirement homes are not always set up to allow this kind of freedom. For instance, a nursing home resident is not allowed to check themselves out and drive to the market. For anyone who is accustomed to shopping, cooking, and generally doing for themselves, this is a large blow to their quality of life. Additionally, better care is typically given when the caregiver only has one person to be responsible for. The beauty of being cared for at home is that there are no other patients to worry about; giving the caregivers the opportunity to spend more time focused on one person and increasing the quality of care.
Home care is a valid option for most seniors. When they can be kept feeling young, surrounded by their own things, and receive better care quality, why send them anywhere? In the long run, it may even be cheaper than a nursing or retirement home.
Dawn Morehead is a former health care worker who now writes on the topic for many websites. She has spent decades working with seniors providing home health care and now consults with different companies on how they can best serve their clients needs. She is an accomplished writer with several papers written about the importance of living at home for seniors health.
