How Home Care Helps Seniors Maintain Independence
Whether a senior is living at home or in a facility, maintaining a sense of independence is a major consideration when looking to improve quality of life. Cultivating that sense of independence while also making sure the senior is safe, comfortable and has opportunities for life enrichment activities is the goal of personalized home care services.
Here are a few ways that home care can provide assistance to enhance a senior’s independence:
Transportation and special outings
If possible to get out of the house, being able to run errands or attend social functions and have the freedom to choose special outings goes a long way towards enhancing a feeling of independence. An in-home caregiver can arrange, provide the transportation or accompany the senior for these outings.
Care coordination
An in-home care provider can make recommendations for assistive products and adaptive devices to enhance independence and coordinate the purchase of products. A professional in-home care agency can also assist with coordinating care across healthcare providers for the smoothest care transitions.
Exercise and activities
Exercise is fundamental to maintaining circulation and bone density in seniors. An in‑home caregiver can encourage activities and exercise that are suited to an individual’s capabilities and interests.
Nutritious meal planning and preparation
A healthy lifestyle promotes independence through fighting decline. Muscle loss is an inevitable consequence of aging, but incorporating adequate amounts of protein into the diet can help the body make muscle. An in-home caregiver can plan and prepare nutritious and tasty meals alongside the senior for whom he or she is providing care, instructing on proper nutrition and encouraging assistance with the meal preparation when appropriate and of interest to the senior.
Creating a safe home environment
Generations at Home offers a free in-home safety assessment to determine which home safety adaptations such as bathroom grab bars, hand rails, adequate lighting, home accessibility and furniture placement may be helpful to keep the home safer from falls.
Medication reminders
Medications must be taken as prescribed in order to obtain the best health results, and thus the most independence possible. Home care agencies can assist with assuring that only the most recent prescribed medications are taken, give reminders for times medication is needed, and teach the importance of following the doctor’s instructions.
Technology
An in-home care agency can assist with the coordination of in-home medical monitoring or telehealth. Telehealth allows data collection of a person’s vitals on a regular basis without leaving the comfort of home and reduces hospitalizations and emergency room visits. Vitals can be measured at home with the devices and reported immediately to a physician.
Nourishing the spirit
For seniors who live alone, isolation is an unfortunate aspect of their daily lifestyle. Visits with friends and family members or an in-home caregiver can boost their mood, while regular conversation fine-tunes the mind and memory.
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Contact Generations at Home to learn more about how our caregivers can make every day a meaningful day in the celebration of independence for seniors.
