Is your Home ready for Senior Home Care?

After retirement, most elders prefer to lead a healthy, hassle-free and enjoyable life independently. While this idea is appealing, prevailing health issues of such elders and busy schedules of family members may not permit this in reality. But most seniors attach substantial pride and self-esteem to their independence. so they might find it difficult or even offensive to concede that they require external assistance to live safely and comfortably in their own homes. There is likely to be strong resilience as they feel freedom is curtailed in the presence of external care-takers despite best intentions and efforts. 

Talking to elders about engaging senior home care service can be a challenging task as family members are likely to face substantial apprehensions and opposition from them. Hence it is recommended to adopt a tactful approach with lots of patience and empathy. 

The following important points may be involved in these discussions for optimal decision-making- 

• 1. Reinstating that the elders will still retain the power and authority to make their own choices for adopting the desired lifestyle and be independent. 
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• 2. Talking about the benefits of home care services which lessen the mental burden of doing several routine tasks like taking timely medications, cooking nutritional meals and doing appropriate exercises. Taking collective decisions is the key to success here. 
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• 3. Consulting the family physician whose encouragement and recommendations can overcome the inherent resistance of elders for deploying care services. This alters their perspectives to gain a more open-minded outlook. 
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• 4. Meeting the proposed caregivers together and giving vital consideration and respect to the senior’s decisions. This ensures that the home care idea is acceptable to them and they predominantly continue to control their decisions. 

Benefits of Senior Home Care 

Most seniors need some form of assistance in their day-to-day activities at home. Old age also causes delicate health conditions and fragile bones making them easily susceptible to infections, illnesses, trips and falls. This could lead to lifetime disabilities and dependencies or sometimes even fatality! Geriatric Home Healthcare or Senior In-Home Care offers a reliable and promising solution to this problem. It facilitates elders with the capability to stay as independently as possible while simultaneously catering to their safety and security needs through support services.   

Preparing the Home for Senior Care 

Another important step is to prepare the proposed residence to a senior-friendly home so that caregivers can easily connect with the elderly residents and fulfill their duties without hitches. 

For that, the following aspects must be taken care of- 

• 1. The home must maintain a certain standard of hygiene and cleanliness to prevent contraction of injury and ailments. Deep cleaning and repair services may be utilized if required. 
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• 2. The home must be easily navigable by the caretakers. Essential commodities including medications, food items and supplies like soaps, antiseptics, gloves, antiseptic wipes must be easily accessible and clearly labeled. 
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• 3. Required appliances and healthcare aids should be functioning properly. 
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• 4. The basic amenities as access to toilets and timely food must be provided to caregivers. 
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• 5. The emergency contact numbers of family members and concerned doctors of seniors must be furnished to caregivers. 
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• Pets like dogs must be safely locked to avoid injuries to caregivers. 

Home Safety Tips for Elderly 

• 1. Having proper lighting and anti-skid mats in slippery areas for fall prevention. 
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• 2. Deploying smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to avoid fire and toxic hazards. 
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• 3. Disposing expired medications and food supplements. 
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• 4. Using anti-scald devices and grab bars in bathrooms. 
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• 5. Installing motion sensors and burglar alarms for sending safety alerts. 
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 Thus Senior Home Care enables elders to live comfortably in their homes and simultaneous reap the benefits of caregiver assistance in daily activities for a healthier and happier existence!