- health care -- nursing, physical and other rehabilitative therapy, medicating, monitoring, and medical equipment
- personal care -- assistance with personal hygiene, dressing, getting in and out of a bed or chair, bathing, and exercise
- nutrition -- meal planning, cooking, meal delivery, or meals at outside meal sites
- homemaking -- housekeeping, shopping, home repair service, and household paperwork, and
- social and safety needs -- escort and transportation services, companions, telephone check, overall planning, and program coordination service.
Not everyone using home care will need all of the services available. And of course, not every community will offer every possible service. Even if they do, a single program or agency might not provide everything the elder will require. Additional needs may have to be filled by community agencies or organizations, adult daycare or senior centers, individuals hired through informal networks, and family and friends. Geriatric care managers can help establish a home care program for elders who require a mix of different types of care -- different services from different providers.
The Independence Advantage
One of the great advantages of home care is that it permits an older person to maintain a feeling of independence and comfort in familiar surroundings. Also, you and your family may be better able to control the care received -- and to avoid care that isn't necessary.
On the other hand, for home care to work well, you and your family must take the initiative to find services, coordinate different programs and personnel, monitor home care needs and performance, figure costs and budgets, and make changes when required. And you and your family will be making all these decisions without a professional institution to help. This decision-making responsibility can add an extra burden to the daily task of meeting the elder's needs for physical care.
|
|
