What to Expect with Home Care

What Can I Expect With In-Home Care? In-home care offers seniors and their families the convenience of care delivered in the comfort of home wherever their home may be.

For families who live away from their loved one, home care providers like Comfort Keepers® offer, as one of their services, regular updates to families about the senior’s well-being — and with that, assurance that the senior is receiving the best possible care.

In addition to peace of mind, Comfort Keepers can deliver a wide range of services, working with seniors and their families to create care plans that meet their specific needs. These individual care plans allow seniors the opportunity to age in place, safely and securely. In-home care services provide support to help preserve seniors’ dignity and independence as well.

Below is a listing of typical in-home services. There may not be an immediate need for all of these services now, but the great thing about in-home care is that it offers plenty of options that can be added or modified as needs change—all in the comfort of home.

Additionally, you can expect real value from in-home care. Instead of contracting with a variety of providers that may specialize in errands, or transportation, or housekeeping, or meal preparation, you can contract with an in-home care agency to take care of all these needs and more.

COMPANIONSHIP & CARE SERVICES

• Conversation and companionship to provide seniors social contact at meal time or other moments of the day to enhance health, happiness and quality of life.
• Meal preparation to help seniors maintain good nutrition for healthier living.
• Light housekeeping, such as vacuuming, dusting, sweeping and mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms and kitchens, taking out the trash, straightening rooms, organizing closets and drawers, cleaning interior windows that can be reached without a ladder.
• Errand services, such as picking up prescriptions and going to the post office.
• Grocery shopping with or without the client.
• Respite care to relieve family members who are assisting with the care of their loved ones. This allows family time to run errands, go shopping or get much-needed rest.
• Medication reminders. In-home caregivers cannot administer medications, but can remind the client to take medications and assist in opening medication containers and reading labels.
• Grooming and dressing guidance, such as buttoning clothing, tying shoes and putting on socks.
• Incidental transportation to doctor appointments, barbershops, beauty salons, shopping, wherever the client likes or needs to go.
• Laundry services, which include washing, drying, ironing and putting things away.
• Recreational activities, such as card and board games,  a walk in the park, crafts, hobbies, and outings to church and other favorite places to help seniors stay active in mind, body and spirit.
• Mail assistance and organization to separate junk mail from important mail and to let seniors know when bills are due.
• Periodic review and communication with family to provide updates on their loved one, answer any concerns or redefine services that may be needed.
• In-home safety devices that monitor seniors when they are home alone, for their safety, and enable them to quickly summon help with the push of a button in an emergency.

PERSONAL CARE SERVICES

• Bathing to help seniors maintain proper hygiene and to refresh their sense of well-being.
• Mobility assistance to promote activity and exercise for a more healthful lifestyle as well as improve mood, decrease stress and increase mental alertness.
• Transferring and positioning seniors to help maintain functional activity, relieve pressure areas on the skin, reduce atrophy and stiffening of muscles, and promote proper breathing, digestion, and elimination.
• Toileting and incontinence care to sensitively help seniors maintain dignity as they manage with a loss of independence.
• Oral hygiene to prevent bad breath, tooth decay, and gum disease and assist in prevention of other diseases.
• Feeding and special diet and meal preparation to make certain seniors get the proper nutrition for good health and to control medical conditions.

In-home care providers can offer specialized assistance as well, such as care for hospice patients and their families and for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-related conditions.