Senior Home Health Care

As we get older, nature causes us to naturally slow down resulting in many of us requiring more medical care than before. Just the words nursing home scares most of us. Will our families and friends visit often, will we feel feeling deserted and of course, we are all afraid of possible nursing home abuse. Almost everyone would prefer to be taken care of in our own home.

It becomes more challenging to get adequate medical care when we are sick and at home, but home health care has become a very feasible alternative to nursing homes despite the assumption of higher costs. Not surprisingly, people receiving home care tend to be happier. This positive mental state tends to help improve our health. We feel more comfortable in familiar surroundings, and are less likely to get confused or disoriented. This can be a real helpful for a patient with Alzheimer’s or Dementia. We also get to keep our doctors, who are familiar with our medical history and who we trust. With friends and family near, we should have more visitors to cheer us up during the day.

Depending on your health, there are a number of different levels of home health care. As you start slowing down, you might only need minimal help for about 4 hours a day to help with things such as bathing, dressing, cleaning, laundry and cooking. The next lever of care provides care for help during most of the daytime hours, typically 8 – 12. These aids would help with almost everything including taking you to doctor appointments, doing your shopping and light cleaning You can also get an emergency aid system to wear around your neck which will alert the company to send help in case of a crisis.

The real choice between home health care and a nursing home comes when the person requires 24 hour care. If you need continuous medical monitoring which requires a nurse, you might be better off in a nursing home. But if the senior just needs assistance, home health care is a viable option. It’s common for people to get depressed when put in a nursing home, the patients mental state will have a significant effect on their physical health. Sharing your home with strangers can be very difficult and you’ll next at least 2 aids to split the time. It’s very easy to get on each others nerves and the lack of privacy can be uncomfortable. You will also need a place for the aid to sleep.

Many cities and counties provide help for the homebound elderly. To ensure proper eating, the Meals on Wheels program can bring cooked food directly to the senior’s apartment. For help with transportation, seniors approved for access-a-ride can be picked up right at their door and brought to doctors or other places. To help with in home care for people finding it difficult to get around, you can get a hospital bed which will adjust to many different positions making it easier to sleep, watch television, read a book or eat right from your bed. Another good option is a bench seat for the bathtub to keep from falling while taking a shower and making it easier to keep clean. Home health care certainly offers many advantages.