Most family caregivers reach a point when they realize they need help at home caring for a senior Mom, Dad, grandparent or other elderly loved one.
Tell-tale signs include:
- Recognizing that your loved one requires constant supervision and/or assistance with everyday activities, such as bathing and dressing.
- Finding that certain housekeeping routines and regular errands are accomplished with great difficulty or are left undone.
- In order to take care of any business outside the home, more than one caregiver is required.
Assessing Your Home Care Needs
A number of options are available for finding help at home. It is often best to start by assessing both your needs as a caregiver and the needs of the person you are caring for. There are a variety of checklists to help you evaluate what types of help are needed.
In general, consider the following areas:
- Personal Care: bathing, eating, dressing, toileting
- Household Care: cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping
- Health Care: medication management, physician’s appointments, physical therapy
- Emotional Care: companionship, meaningful activities, conversation
What Do You Look For In A Caregiver?
It is important to evaluate the values and preferences of the person receiving care. He or she may be more comfortable with a home care worker who shares his or her cultural background and/or language.
The care recipient may also have a preference between male and female caregivers, particularly if the worker will be helping with personal care.
This assessment may enable you to include alternative (and possibly less expensive) approaches to care such as Home Instead, which can provide home helper services, companionship, personal care, transportation, and a host of non-medical care services.
Browse through our digital brochure for information about our services that may help you with making this important, life changing decision. Or simply call us at 804.527.1100 anytime, day or night.
