Here are some things that you need to know about aging in place, before considering it as a good option for your senior mom or dad.

The Option Is Not Good for Everyone

The truth is that most people want to age in place and die in their homes, but it is not a great choice for everyone. If your senior loved one is having serious health issues, they are constantly needing help with medications, and treatments, or leaving their houses and not coming back they may not be able to age in place. Home care can help in a lot of ways and they can keep your senior loved one home for much longer but there is a point where your senior loved one may need more help.

Always Do Research

Some seniors may just need help managing their household and doing small chores which allow them to thrive while aging in place. However, when you choose home care you should always do your research. There are many different companies and thousands of home care providers to interview and choose from. You should also be researching how a senior can age in place more effectively and healthily. A senior may need to rearrange their home, focus on different routines, and a lot more but they won’t know this unless they do some research about aging in place first.

Look At Modifications

If your senior loved one is super mobile and independent they may be able to thrive while aging in place. However, some modifications may need to happen and most of them are cheaper than you think. A senior may need a walk-in tub, new door handles, different light switches, or even a higher toilet. These small changes can have a huge impact on how well your senior mom or dad lives at home. The more changes you can make to allow your senior mom or dad to be comfortable the more likely they are to be healthy while aging at home.

This May Not Be a Long-Term Solution

Care will always change and it is important to note when things in their lives start changing. They may be fine on their own for a long time but as they age things do change. If you start to notice they aren’t bathing or changing they may need home care to step in and help them. However, if they need help with medication management or other things they may need a skilled nurse. They might be too embarrassed or resistant to ask for more help but it’s important to observe what is happening around them. This is also something home care can help with if you are not always with your senior mom or dad.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Home Care Services in Mount Laurel NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660.

The post Things to Understand About Aging In Place appeared first on Attentive Care, Inc..

Get Clear About the Need for 24-Hour Home Care

One of the things that family caregivers can do before even opening up this conversation is to get clear about why their seniors need help around the clock. Being able to articulate to seniors why they might need elder care providers overnight as well as during the day is an important step in the conversation. Some reasons could include changes related to aging, declining health, and a greater need for family caregivers to get uninterrupted sleep overnight.

Prepare for the Conversation

Talking about 24-hour home care services doesn’t have to be difficult. Choosing the right time and place can go a long way toward having a successful talk. Jotting down some key points helps family caregivers remember what they want to mention. It’s also important to know when to ease up and table the talk for another time if it turns out to not be the right moment.

Emphasize Teamwork

One big reason to embrace 24-hour home care is that it expands the “team” that is supporting the senior who needs help. It isn’t just the family caregiver and some occasional assistance anymore. Seniors have help around the clock, with whatever tasks are becoming more challenging for them.

Practice Active Listening

Seniors need to know that their family members are listening to them when they share concerns. Active listening helps to make sure that family caregivers are not only listening but also making it obvious to seniors that what they have to say matters. Body language that confirms family caregivers are listening as well as focusing only on the conversation at hand are great ways to show active listening.

Ask Open-ended Questions

Sometimes family caregivers and seniors haven’t talked about what comes next. Asking open-ended questions helps everyone involved get the information they need to make decisions that need to be made down the line. Ask seniors what their concerns are about having more help and what they want from the next few years of their lives. These questions help family members make better decisions for the seniors they love.

Address Concerns Openly

To help seniors continue to feel heard, family caregivers have to address their concerns. Even if a concern seems like it might not be necessarily an important one, it’s important to the senior because they brought it up. Getting answers to those questions and concerns goes a long way toward helping seniors feel more comfortable having help from 24-hour home care providers.

Be Patient and Show Support

Any big changes are tough to adapt to, especially for seniors. And having home care providers around during the day and at night is a big change. Family caregivers need to support seniors emotionally as they adapt and be patient with the emotions seniors might feel during the transition.

24-hour home care providers offer hands-on assistance and support during the day and at night. This gives seniors a boost in the care they receive, helping them manage all sorts of needs no matter when they experience them.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring 24-Hour Home Care Services in Medford NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660.

The post How Families Talk to Seniors About 24-Hour Home Care appeared first on Attentive Care, Inc..

Why do you need to pay close attention to this? Because, when you see your loved one struggling with daily tasks, when they constantly call you or somebody else for help, when you are under stress and running out of time to do everything you need to do in life, you’re going to get frustrated.

Most of the time people don’t know very much about senior care topics, especially companion care at home. They have a general idea about what it means but have no direct, personal experience with it. That’s when you can overlook something vitally important that may matter to the aging senior you love.

Let’s discuss three ways you should think about companion care at home, whether it’s for you, an aging parent, your spouse, a brother or sister, a grandparent, or somebody else you care about and know needs some support at this stage in his or her life.

It is support for increasing challenges.

Companion care at home is not meant to replace family or friends. The companion care at home aide who is hired is not coming in to circumvent a spouse, a roommate, or even an adult child who lives in the area and has been supporting their mother or father for quite some time. It is simply assistance to help these aging men and women with difficult challenges.

Life throws at us many challenges, from our earliest minutes of life to the final days. Along the way, you usually have some help, some emotional or physical support along the way. Yet, as people get older, they either turn to family for help or they try to do things by themselves too often.

That’s what can lead to potential injuries, mishaps, and tragedies. Companion care at home is designed to help with these increasing challenges, whether it’s mobility, preparing healthy meals, transportation, and more.

It can offer a consistent presence in their life.

When family or friends have their careers, responsibilities, children to raise, and so much more, they have limited time. There is rarely consistency when family members become primary caregivers for aging parents or grandparents.

But companion care at home through an agency can offer that consistency. That consistency can have a significant impact on safety and comfort. When the aging person knows somebody is going to be there to help them get into and out of the shower, go to a doctor’s appointment, or simply prepare a meal, they will avoid pushing themselves too hard and risk tripping, getting hurt, or missing out on things they enjoy.

It offers experienced care.

Most family members have never provided care for an aging senior before. Therefore, despite their best intentions, there’s a lot they don’t know. With an experienced companion care at home aide, however, that person will likely have worked with numerous other seniors through the years.

They will know what strategies tend to work best, the importance of staying active, and how vital it is to be encouraging, even when you’re having an off day when you are frustrated, and you just want to give up.

These are just three simple reasons to consider companion care at home for the person in your life who may be aging and needs some support.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Companion Care at Home Services in Medford NJ, please get in touch with the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660.

The post Best Ways to Think About Companion Care at Home appeared first on Attentive Care, Inc..