Home Health Care Can Provide Surprising Benefits For Senior Loved Ones And Family Caregivers
Family caregivers sometimes believe their options are limited. They may think that admitting their senior loved ones to a nursing home or similar facility is their only choice. It isn’t, and Pegasus home care services in Granada Hills and elsewhere can have surprising benefits.
Home health care is designed to help individuals:
- Achieve self-sufficiency
- Avoid additional loss of function
- Recover from illness, injury, or trauma
- Stay independent
In-home care can help slow the decline in individuals with progressive conditions.
Aging in place means that you or your senior loved one continue to live at home. You or they are in familiar and comfortable surroundings. Home care relieves the worry and stress that families may have about the welfare of their elderly loved ones who live alone.
Many seniors don’t need 24/7 assistance to live safely at home. Sometimes providing even minimal help overwhelms busy family caregivers. Or perhaps physical distance means that family can’t be there for a loved one.
In-Home Health Care Is Versatile
Home health care meets a variety of needs. It includes everything from extensive medical care to companionship. Seniors, disabled individuals, and the chronically ill of all ages are among those it helps.
Anyone, regardless of age, recovering from an illness, injury, or medical treatments benefits from in-home health care. It also enables senior loved ones to age in place if that’s what they want to do. Most are able to retain independence and maintain a high quality of life with a little help.
Home healthcare services are provided by:
- Dietitians
- Housekeepers
- Mental health professionals
- Nurses aides
- Physical, occupational, and speech therapists
- Registered nurses
- Social workers
They have the same training, licensing, and credentials as other professionals in their field. The difference is that they help you in your home rather than you traveling to a hospital or office. The level and frequency of assistance they provide is customized to fit individual needs.
In-Home Health Care Is Comprehensive
Home care professionals provide an almost infinite variety of services. Examples include:
- Assisting with personal hygiene
- Caring for wounds
- Coordinating care and communicating with physicians and other caregivers
- Educating individuals and caregivers about medical conditions, medications, and disease prevention
- Evaluating home safety
- Helping with telehealth and telemedicine
- Managing and administering medication, including injections and IV lines
- Meal planning and preparation
- Monitoring “the numbers,” such as heart rate, respiration rate, and temperature
- Networking with community resources to obtain medical equipment and supplies
- Preventing infection
- Serving as companions to prevent loneliness and isolation
- Transporting individuals
Individuals receiving home health care have fewer hospitalizations and tend to recover faster from illness or injury. They also need emergency or urgent care services less often.
The most significant benefit of home care is that it is performed in an individual’s home. You or your senior receive one-on-one care. You also avoid exposure to contagion, which is especially important during a pandemic.
Receiving care in-home also means that individuals are comfortable and relaxed. There’s no waiting for a provider who is running behind. Your senior loved one isn’t rushed through and routinely handed orders for lab work or a prescription.
Home care professionals take the time to talk to you or your senior loved one about your needs. They see each individual as a person that is more than a diagnosis. They always strive to protect an individual’s privacy and dignity regardless of the level of care needed.
In-Home Health Care Also Benefits Family Caregivers
If you are caring for a loved one, home care has benefits for you as well. You may not be available 24/7. Or you may not have the expertise to meet your loved one’s medical needs.
A home care professional is there when you can’t be. They have the training and knowledge to provide essential medical care. They also have access to technology and services that you might not have.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed as a caregiver, Pegasus services include respite care. Respite care means that a professional gives you a break for as long or as often as you need it. It’s an opportunity for you to rest and refresh yourself.
In-Home Health Care Improves Safety
Because part of health care includes home safety, individuals experience fewer accidents. They don’t fall nearly as often. They learn how to overcome conditions such as muscle weakness or poor eyesight to avoid falls.
Medications are taken on schedule with fewer incidents of accidental over or under dosages. Healthy meals that comply with any dietary restrictions are consumed at regular times. Help is provided for smoking cessation and avoiding overconsumption of alcohol.
Admission to a facility can be postponed, if not prevented, when individuals receive in-home care. They are happier living at home, and that contributes to improved health.
Pegasus is a licensed Home Care Organization and a Joint Commission Accredited Home Health Care organization. Our home care professionals in Granada Hills and our other locations are dedicated to your loved ones’ well-being. We’re recognized as an industry leader because of the consistently high-quality care we provide.
