Family members of older adults want to see their loved ones thrive even as they get older. However, some of us struggle to provide the assistance our older loved ones need. We might worry about them experiencing accidents, emergencies, and loneliness at home.
If your elderly loved one has decided to age at home, physical limitations or cognitive decline might make it difficult for them to take proper care of themselves.
Instead of worrying about their safety and care, you can hire personal care providers to ensure they have the assistance they need as they age in place.
Who Is A Personal Care Provider?
As your loved one grows older, living alone might become unsafe. They may get lonely and depressed, struggle with climbing the stairs or reaching the top shelves, or find it difficult to bathe, groom and even eat.
Physical, health conditions and cognitive limitations can make it challenging for them to provide their care at home.
A personal care provider assists your loved one with essential day-to-day activities that they can no longer perform on their own. The variety of care they provide falls under the term personal care services or in-home care services.
What are Personal Care Services?
Personal care services provide seniors with the much-needed support they need with day-to-day activities as they age in any place they call home. They usually fall into two categories:
- Activities of daily living (ADLs)
- Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs)
Activities Of Daily Living (ADLs)
Activities of daily living, also called basic activities of daily living (BADLs) are basic self-care tasks, yet critical, that an individual performs every day at home to live an independent life.
The development skills needed to perform these basic tasks are acquired at a young age and help an individual continue to provide their care.
Examples of personal care services that fall under ADLs include:
- Eating
- Bathing
- Toileting
- Grooming
- Walking and transferring
Instrumental Activities Of Daily Living (IADLs)
Instrumental activities of daily living are not as critical, but they are essential. They involve more thinking and organization skills to help the senior continue to function independently. We learn these skills in the pre-teen and teenage years and continue to use them as we grow older.
Personal care services examples that fall under IADLs include:
- Transportation: driving or ability to organize other means of transport
- Shopping and meal preparation
- Managing finances including paying bills and management of personal assets
- Home cleaning and maintenance
- Managing communication with others
- Managing medications
Signs That An Older Adult Needs A Personal Caregiver At Home
One of the questions we get a lot is “When is it the best time to get a home care provider for my senior mom or dad?”
The truth is some children or relatives wait too long before they get help for their loved ones. Just because your loved one can cook their meals, doesn’t mean they aren’t depressed. Just because they can groom themselves, doesn’t mean they don’t have a hard time getting up from bed every morning.
The following signs will tell you it’s time to provide your loved one with the support they need to continue to live a happy life.
- Poor personal hygiene
- Inability to clean and maintain the home
- Inability to perform daily tasks independently
- Frequent forgetfulness
- Loss of interest in hobbies
- Stack of mail and unpaid bills
Poor Personal Hygiene
If you notice your loved one’s clothes are always dirty, he or she has bad breath and body odor, this is a sign they are unable to care for their personal needs.
Inability To Clean And Maintain The Home
A littered kitchen sink, spilled water or drink on the floor, and dirty laundry are some of the signs that caring for the home is becoming difficult.
Inability To Perform Daily Tasks Independently
If performing ADLs such as bathing, and some IADLs such as shopping, transportation, and managing medication is becoming a struggle, it’s time for home help.
Frequent Forgetfulness
We are all forgetful once in a while, but when it has become frequent for an older adult, this might mean the onset of dementia. A trained memory care provider will be able to offer memory care services at home.
Loss Of Interest In Hobbies
Even the best of us get tired of our hobbies sometimes. However if a senior begins to isolate themselves, and no longer get excited about their favorite activities, this could be a sign to get help. A personal care provider can offer companionship.
Stack Of Mail And Unpaid Bills
This simply tells you that your loved one is finding it hard to keep track of their bills and respond to mail as needed. Getting someone to help ensure bills are paid and important mail is responded to, helps them manage their communication better.
If your loved one is displaying one or more of the above signs, having someone assist them will be beneficial to their overall health.
How Do I Find a Personal Care Provider?
Entrusting your loved one’s care to someone else is not as easy, especially when you have been the one caring for them. This is why it’s advised you work with professional personal care agencies like Amy’s Eden Senior Care.
What we do is to help family members worry less about their loved one’s safety by providing them with a professional caregiver to assist their loved ones with day-to-day activities at any place they call home.
This ensures that older adults have all the support they need while retaining their independence. Family members instead of worrying can now focus on creating beautiful memories with their loved ones, knowing they are receiving exceptional care.
Benefits Of Hiring From A Personal Care Agency
Why hire caregivers from a care agency? Below are some reasons why.
- Trained and vetted caregivers: Home care agencies only hire caregivers that reach strict eligibility requirements, so you’re assured your loved one is receiving the best care.
- Quick replacement: If your caregiver has to skip a day, is sick, or won’t be available for whatever reason, you can request a replacement, which can be provided quickly.
- Education and continuous training: personal care agencies offer support to caregivers so they can provide your loved one with the highest quality of care. They do this by providing continuous health care programs, training, and education.
- Peace of mind: You don’t have to worry any longer about the safety of your loved one, managing your caregiving, or handling payments. Your home care agency handles all of that.
How Do I Pay for Personal Care?
While Medicare doesn’t cover personal care services, you can pay for personal care for your loved one through the following.
- Medicaid (available in all 50 States)
- Private health insurance
- Long term insurance
- Employee compensation benefits
- Veteran benefits
- Out of pocket
You must call and check with the first 5 sources above to know what personal care services are covered. Most personal care agencies accept payment for services from all of the above.
Final Words
Slowing losing your independence as an older adult can be terrifying. Finding it difficult to perform daily habitual tasks can be scary. But, it doesn’t have to be. With the right support, older adults can thrive and live long and happy lives.
In fact, our high-quality in-home and assisted home care services have empowered family members of older adults to go from worrying about their loved one’s safety and care to putting their hearts at ease.
We have given them enough time instead to create meaningful moments with their loved ones which they will cherish forever. It’s like walking on air without a single care in the world.
Our caregivers are trained to provide high-quality care for your loved one. Our goal is for you to never have to worry about your loved one falling down the stairs, skipping medications, or getting depressed.
If you’re in Northern Nevada, contact us right away to speak with one of our care specialists and find out how we can help.
