Home Care is a popular topic these days, in fact 65 million Americans are looking forward to finding a home caregiver. To fully understanding home care and its benefits is not always straightforward. Because dealing with age-related issues will often involve multiple family members, it is particularly important to have a clear picture in your mind of the advantages.
Pros and Cons of Home Care
The benefits are plentiful and can greatly reduce the stress that comes with caring for a loved one. We will explore them and try to give you clarity into why choosing home care can be a better alternative to assisted living.
Advantages of Home Care for the Elderly
The In-Home Senior Care Market continually increases in demand, which can cause confusion when attempting to select the right level and type of care. In many cases, aging in place is preferred over Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes. One of the most common ways to facilitate aging in place is to hire a professional in-home caregiver. These private duty caregivers are great at providing companionship, transportation, meal preparation, bathing, and various other personal care services. What many families do not initially realize, in addition to the care recipient, there is a significant advantage to the loved one arranging the care.
The following are some of the most common home care benefits of hiring an in-home senior caregiver.
Home Care Benefits – 5 Reasons for Senior In-Home Care
1. Peace of Mind:
Taking care of an aging parent or grandparent can be extremely stressful. Many people do not have caregiving experience, so learning these skills can be difficult. Furthermore, balancing other life events on top of caregiving can be extremely stressful. With the help of an in-home caregiver, you gain peace of mind knowing that your loved one is taken care of and looked after, while you get the flexibility to maintain your lifestyle, guilt-free.
2. Professional experience:
Caregivers are equipped to handle both a daily routine and any extraordinary situations that may arise. They have had extensive experience and training for a myriad of situations that arise due to age-related issues. Often times, a steady experienced hand can make a tremendous positive impact.
3. Constant personal interaction:
Having an individualized personal caregiver allows your loved one to build a relationship, and socialize with someone outside of the family. This socialization can improve overall happiness and emotional well-being. It serves as a great natural remedy for loneliness and isolation, which is a significant contributor to a lower quality of life in our seniors.
4. Increased quality time:
Having an in-home caregiver to help with normal tasks such as bathing, meal preparation, and light housekeeping provides the family and primary caretaker with a much needed break. In turn, this leads to the primary caregiver being able to enjoy and treasure the company of their loved one much more. This allows them to simply focus on enjoying the quality time without the burdens that caregiving places on the relationship.
5. Comfort:
Finally, your elderly loved one has spent years in their own home, building memories and surrounding themselves with familiar object they see every day. Their home is a place of love-filled memories, of comfort, and of joy. An in-home caregiver allows for comfortable aging within the home and prevents the need of having to adjust to a new environment.
This is meant to be a brief guide to the many benefits of in-home care, so we encourage you to check out additional resources that you might be interested in listed below:
- How to get started with a caregiver: How can selecting a caregiver help you and your loved ones live a more peaceful life
- Cost of Home Care: How much does home care truly cost?
- Aging in place home modifications: What parts of your home needs modifications for a comfortable in home aging experience
