Top 7 Reasons to Choose Home-based Care For Seniors

Caring for Seniors at Home

Despite the increase of health care and senior care professionals or institutions, most people still opt for home-based care for seniors. One of the most important consideration if you are considering in-home senior care is to have family caregivers or a professional home care agency willing to provide assistance and attend to the needs. Although the quality of service is not the same as the ones provided by medical professionals who train exactly for this type of care; however, your genuine concern and knowledge of their needs are essential to knowing how to fulfill those needs.

Home Care Essentials

Home-based care for seniors is never an easy undertaking. However, it has its distinct advantage of being able to spend quality time with your loved ones while caring for their daily needs. With a familiar surrounding, your loved ones do not have to adapt to changes in a new environment or their communication patterns, and they can be ensured that their non-medical needs are also met.

If you are not hiring a senior care professional, then members of the family must come up with a schedule that will determine who is responsible for taking care of your loved ones during a given time within a day. Some seniors require 24 hour care, thus one person cannot perform the task alone, so the family want to develop a plan of action to ensure the needs of the senior is met. In addition, there are other areas to consider by side the physical care and assistance provided to the elder, such as housekeeping, shopping, assistance in grooming or bathing, paying the bills, and others.  Therefore, let’s examine some pro’s and con’s of home care.

Pro’s and Con’s of Home Care

When it comes to home-based care for seniors, certain choices have to be made. When coming up with those decisions, you need to take into account several factors since they could impact not just the life of the elder, but yours (as the carer) as well. When you opt to care for the elderly at home, there are certain advantages involved, although some disadvantages are to be expected too. To determine whether you are suited to care for your elderly family member at home, here are some sets of pro’s and con’s you might want to consider:

Pro’s:

• You or your loved one can stay in their home
• Care is (usually) administered by a loved one
• You have more privacy
• It may be less costly than other options
• Feelings of helplessness–and the depression that often arises when living in a nursing facility – may be avoided
• If Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia should develop, familiar surroundings can produce feelings of calm and a sense of control
• Allows more independence in providing for their essential needs and demands

Con’s:

• It can be difficult to cope with the difficulties of caring for an elderly individual if you live away from relatives or other family members that can not provide assistance in the care
• You might need to modify the features and arrangements within the house in order to make it more convenient for you to provide care
• Your home may be ill-equipped to deal with changes in your mobility and the deterioration of your range of physical abilities
• According to Yoga Flavored Life, the people providing the care, if they are family members, probably have extensive responsibilities outside the home; as your dependency increases, their ability to care for you may become strained
• Living at home, even with in-home care, may place you at a decided disadvantage in case of medical emergency.

Pro’s and Con’s of Professional Care givers

Choosing to enroll your elderly loved ones in a sheltered or nursing accommodation has its own sets of benefits and pitfalls. Here are a few for you to consider:

Pro’s:

• The physical arrangement and living condition is designed primarily to make it convenient for the elder and to easily provide for their needs
• There is always someone to keep an eye over the elders and provide for their needs
• Relinquishing the responsibilities of home ownership (and all the upkeep and maintenance that go with it) can actually be a great relief
• The cost of in home professional, depending on geographical location and other factors, may be lower than other options
• Various levels of assistance are available; as a result, your loved ones may retain independence in most areas of their life as long as possible

Con’s:

• You have to combat the emotional guilt involved with not having to personally look after the needs of your loved ones.
• Finding the most reliable and trusted professional care giver can be challenging.
• Not trusting that your loved ones are in capable hands

These are just a few of the pros and cons of providing direct home care vs. hiring a professional to provide care for your loved ones.  Each individual will have different needs: medical concerns, personal health and hygiene needs, physical limitations and psychological make-up etc.  However, when making the decision regarding how to spend your retirement years, it’s important to weigh all these options along with financial concerns, family availability, and many others.  As needed, one should reach out to your loved ones primary physician, a counselor who specializing in elder care, friends and family who  may be very helping in making these important and highly personal life decisions.

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Sources:

Yoga Flavored Life: http://www.yogaflavoredlife.com/five-pros-and-cons-of-home-care-vs-assisted-living-for-seniors/

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