There are many factors that will help to determine which kind of care is needed for you or a loved one. Making the right choice can give you the peace of mind that you or loved one need. In home personal care has many benefits that long-term care facility can not offer, including independence, stay close to friends and family, custom service based on need, continue daily activities and reduced cost.
Can I or my loved ones stay at home and receive home care?
As people grow older they have a harder time doing every task. Many times their abilities deteriorate rapidly due to a sudden loss or emergency. Making difficult adjustments is hard under stressful conditions, so learning about your options, alternatives and budget requirement ahead of time is a wise move.
Let me illustrate an example of what could happen:
I lived next door to my grandmother in the small apartment she rented to me. At 89 she healthy, sharp as a tack and only took an aspirin a day. Over next year, her memory started to fade and she could not sleep through the night. Her son arranges an in-home aide to spend the nights with her and my wife and I would help her out during the day.
Around her 90th birthday, she got up in the middle the night and fell and broke her hip. She recovered from surgery and returned to living at an assisted living facility not far from her home. She had nursing and PCS care aides with her. Plus my wife and I would visit almost daily.
Later that year she suffered a minor stroke and had to be hospitalised.
She spent about month there before passing.
I share this story to illustrate all the different options you may have to consider in your (or loved ones) care planning. Everyone situation will be different.
When deciding to stay at home here are something’s to consider:
Your current location: Where are you or your loved on living now? Are they living by themselves or with a family member? Is the location meeting their needs? Is the space too big or too small? Can they get access to basic needs like shopping, medical appointments, meal prep and hygiene? Is the home easy to maintain? Does it require access ramps or other accessibility needs?
Support System: How close our family or friends that can help out? How often can they get help? Do they require full-time support? Are they able to provide the kind of support the person needs? Many times family members live and a good distance away – even in another state and friends can only help occasionally. Or one member has taken on the responsibility to care for the person and has left them stuck caring long term for the person.