Are you caring for a parent or loved one who wants to continue to live at home? As their care needs change and expand over time, you may find yourself stretched a little thin. If so, it might be time to consider what assistance and care options are available to you and your family.
Over recent years, the senior living and services industry has grown exponentially. However, not all senior living environments are a good fit for some older adults. Many prefer to stay living in their own homes and retaining as much of their independence as possible, for as long as possible. The good news is that an in-home care partner can offer caregivers a helping hand while focusing on their loved one’s quality of life.
The Challenges of Family Caregiving
Caring for a family member can be a rewarding experience, but it also comes with an array of challenges. The following situations can make it more difficult if:
- You’re caring for parents while also raising your own children
- You’re juggling caregiving responsibilities with a full-time job
- You’re providing care from a distance
- You’re an only child and are solely responsible for your parents’ care
- You feel you don’t have the needed experience to provide the best care for your parents
- Your parents may not want or be comfortable with you being their caregiver
- The roles of ‘parent – child’ are being replaced with ‘parent – caregiver’
How In-Home Care Can Help
If you’re searching for options that can help you to provide the best care for your loved one, researching the advantages of in-home care is a great place to start.
- Personal care
Many older adults need assistance with the tasks of daily life so they can remain living at home. However, many family caregivers may find themselves facing unique challenges that can make providing this level of personal assistance more difficult, such as not being physically able to provide the needed hands-on care, no longer driving, or not having enough time to take care of their loved one’s needs as well as their other responsibilities.
While supporting the dignity and respect of their clients, in-home care providers are able to provide a wide range of services to meet all their needs, or just supplement care where there may be a gap, including:
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Grooming
- Preparing meals
- Mobility and transfer assistance
- Safety monitoring
- Assistance with cognitive impairment
- Accompaniment to doctors’ appointments
- Cognitive and/or physical challenges
Your loved one may require more specialized assistance than a family caregiver is trained to provide. An in-home care service can provide help for those with more specific physical or cognitive needs, such as:
- Providing personalized care for those diagnosed with significant age-related changes, including social interaction, supervision of daily activities, and maintaining continuity of daily routines.
- Help in navigating the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia for both the individual and family. Providing support and person-centered care to assist the client in continuing to live a meaningful and fulfilled life.
- Companionship and homemaking
Is your loved one becoming more isolated or lonely as they age? Older adults often face serious physical and emotional health consequences that result from living alone or experiencing loneliness. If you have other responsibilities, it can be difficult to provide more time than you already do.
In-home care providers can be there when you can’t, and can offer personal care that goes beyond assistance with things like bathing or dressing. Imagine your loved one having someone there to share outings, play board games or to comfort and converse with them when they’re feeling lonely. Whether a little help with housekeeping or friendly companionship is needed, your family member will be well taken care of by those committed to their well-being.
- Wellness and enrichment
While there certainly are challenges that accompany growing older, having the support and encouragement to age well can make a big difference. One of the great advantages that in-home care can offer is their contribution to your loved one’s overall health and well-being.
The primary role of in-home care professionals is to provide clients what they need to live a full and fulfilled life, and they understand the importance of taking care of both the body and mind. They can offer assistance with exercise, meal preparation, monitoring and adhering to dietary plans, medication reminders, cognitive stimulation, and continuation of physical therapy, if needed.
- Transitional and respite care
In-home care can help your loved one transition after being discharged from a hospital or prior to moving into a senior living community. Examples of their services include providing basic in-home care, picking up prescriptions or training family members and the individual on how to continue rehabilitation exercises.
Their services can also provide a well-needed break to the caregiver. In many cases, respite care is needed so that caregivers are able to attend to their other responsibilities, their own health care or just to enjoy a few days off. Respite allows the caregiver and the family to know that their loved one is still receiving excellent attention and support.
Live Well at Home by Eskaton
Live Well at Home by Eskaton is a non-medical home care provider that offers personalized services tailored to your family’s needs and preferences. Our Care Pros are available 24 hours a day to provide assistance with:
- Homemaking
- Warm companionship
- Meal preparation
- Running errands and transportation
- Personal care services
- Overnight services
- And much more!
What makes Live Well at Home different?
We take the extra steps necessary to ensure we’re helping our clients maintain the highest quality of life possible. Here are a few examples that set us apart from other in-home care providers:
- We perform rigorous background checks, require a pre-hire physical, drug screening and TB test of all our care professionals. We also have implemented stringent infection and COVID-19 protocols in alignment with the recommendations provided by the CDC and local health agencies for the safety of both our clients and care team.
- We don’t rotate caregivers, but spend significant time and effort to match the right one to meet a client’s specific needs and provide continuity in care.
- We require an initial comprehensive training program as well as annual training for all of our Care Pros. We also provide additional training for those attending to care needs that require a higher level of skill.
- We have representatives available by phone 24/7 if there is ever an emergency.
- We provide rate and fee information before any services begin, including minimum hourly requirements and billing cycles.
- We create customized care plans to meet each client’s specific needs and preferences.
Eskaton Senior Services
The word Eskaton means “dawn of a new day” and we’ve been serving the Sacramento region and Northern California for over 50 years. Whether our services are provided in your home or in one of our communities, we see each day as an opportunity to enhance the lives of our clients and residents. If you’re wondering if it might be time to obtain in-home care for yourself or a loved one, we hope you’ll consider Live Well at Home by Eskaton.
For more information, or if there are any questions we might assist you with, please call 1-800-478-1209.