Without Assistance From Professional And Family Caregivers, Many Ill Or Disabled Individuals Would Not Be Able To Live Safely At Home
Where would we be without our caregivers? Survival would be difficult for those individuals who are unable to care for themselves adequately. The assistance provided by Pegasus caregivers in Pacoloma enables others to live safely in their home.
Millions of individuals, mostly women, are volunteer caregivers for ill or disabled family members. Many of them have walked away from careers or given up outside interests. Not only do they not get paid, they often meet expenses of their loved one out of their own pocket.
According to 2017 statistics, those unpaid caregivers put in an estimated 34 billion hours helping adult family members. Their efforts were valued at approximately $470 million. As the population ages, those numbers will increase as more and more individuals need help taking care of themselves.
Caregivers Fill Many Roles
The extent of care needed depends on an individual’s physical and mental health. Some individuals only need temporary or minimal assistance. Others have health conditions that require comprehensive or permanent help.
Home care typically involves helping with activities of daily living, or ADLs. ADLs include things like personal hygiene. Some individuals may need additional help to get in and out of bed or a chair.
IADLs are tasks that require more cognitive skills such as organizational ability. Caretakers may have to assume responsibility for managing the household and keeping up with maintenance tasks. Their assistance can expand to managing finances and medication.
A caregiver may serve as a patient advocate, helping a loved one communicate with healthcare providers. They often have to ensure that treatment preferences are honored. They may have to search for community resources to get the supplies and equipment their loved one needs.
If their senior loved one has dementia, caregiving is often a full-time job. A loved one recovering from a fall or a medical procedure usually won’t require extensive help. Regardless of how much assistance is needed, a caregiver improves the quality of life of those they serve.
Pegasus Caregivers Can Help
When family members live far away from their loved ones, they rely on professional in-home caregivers. Pegasus’s trained specialists include:
- Certified home health aides
- Certified nurses aides
- Dietitians
- Occupational, physical, and speech therapists
- Registered nurses
They are all experienced caregivers who have kept up-to-date with the latest advances in their field.
They provide home healthcare services such as:
- Assistance with personal care, such as bathing or dressing
- Help with exercises and ambulation
- Light housekeeping and laundry
- Meal preparation
- Medication reminders
- Pet care
- Shopping for food
- Skilled nursing care
- Transportation to medical appointments
The services are customized to fit each individual.
Family Caregivers Do It All
Many family helpers have to add these same caregiving duties to everything else they do. They have a household to manage, other family members to attend to, as well as a career. When they can, they work in a night’s sleep.
For many family caregivers, the job starts with a few chores, which can evolve into full-time assistance. Others are thrust into a caregiving role due to a sudden event. Accidents, heart attacks, or strokes change the lives of all family members.
Many are unprepared. Along with everything else, caregivers may need training to perform specific tasks. It’s easy to become overwhelmed.
Caregiver burnout occurs when individuals neglect themselves to help their loved one. Juggling myriad duties every day leaves them emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausted. When they are unable to meet their own needs, the quality of care they provide to others can deteriorate.
Family caregivers are at increased risk for:
- Anxiety
- Consumption of harmful substances, such as alcohol or illicit drugs
- Depression
- Deterioration in physical health
- Premature death
- Weakened immune system
Full-time caregivers typically experience a variety of financial hardships. Their income is significantly reduced. They lose their health insurance and other benefits they had when employed.
Respite care is an important service that Pegasus provides to caregivers. Our professionals will step in and give you a break for as long as you need. It’s a way of caregiving for the caregiver.
You may only require professional help for one particular duty on a regular basis. Or you may prefer to take time for a vacation, or schedule “me time” one day a week. You decide how we can best make it possible for your loved one to continue receiving quality care.
Caregiving Offers Rewards
Despite the work and the stress of the job, caregivers also experience rewards. They have a sense of accomplishment from their success in meeting challenges. They know they have made a difference in the life of a loved one.
The most important thing for most family caregivers is knowing that they were “there” for their loved one. They experienced valuable time together that they would have otherwise missed. Their service also changed them for the better.
Pegasus is a licensed Home Care Organization and a Joint Commission Accredited Home Health Care organization. Our team of professional caregivers in Pacoloma and our other locations are here to assist you and your loved one. Our dedication to providing high-quality care has made us an industry leader.
