This is an article I read from caring.com for home care givers...very useful!
Caring.com - Simplifying Caregiving, Supporting Caregivers Senior HousingCaregiving at HomeHealth A-ZMoney & LegalCaregiver WellnessMy Caring Need help finding or choosing a senior care provider? Talk to a Caring Advisor for free: (866) 824-8174 Advertisement Page Sponsored By Home Care Options Explained 10 Best Resources for In-Home Care Help By Paula Spencer Scott, Caring.com senior editor 5 Comments 90% helpful Most people don't start as caregivers knowing the ropes. To the contrary, most caregivers tend to learn as they go along, with a fair amount of wrong turns and struggles. What helps: knowing where to find reliable help.
The following ten organizations and individuals can help you meet your responsibilities, make you feel less alone, and cut your stress if you're helping someone who's receiving care at home.
1. Companion care services What they are: Companion care providers do just what the name says: provide company for older adults, especially those who are shut-ins because of frailty or a dementing illness (such as mild- to moderate-stage Alzheimer's disease), or who live alone. Sometimes called "elder companions," these aides keep a watchful eye, dispense daily medications, drive to haircut appointments, safeguard someone unsteady on his or her feet, read aloud, play cards, prepare light meals and snacks, and otherwise function as an extra set of hands, eyes, and feet for your loved one. Companion care is a growing subset of in-home care services.
How they help: Companion care is ideal for someone who would otherwise have to spend part of the day alone and who requires some light assistance. Family members can work or handle other activities knowing their loved one isn't left alone. Companion care also provides a valuable social benefit, decreasing isolation and improving mood. Warm relationships are often formed when a consistent companion is on the job.
How to get started: You can find companions on your own in much the same way you'd find a babysitter: by talking to neighbors, friends, or family members. Or use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to seach for in-home care agencies by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.
2. Personal care assistants What they are: In addition to providing companion care, personal care assistants offer assistance with all kinds of activities of daily living, from grocery shopping to such nonmedical personal care as toileting, dressing, grooming, and bathing. They can also provide temporary respite care for families.
How they help: Many families enlist personal care assistants -- hired independently or through in-home care agencies -- to solve problems in their home care situation, such as a small woman hiring a strong aide who can lift a spouse for bathing, or a son concerned about privacy hiring a woman to bathe his mother. Personal care assistants can arrange for meal preparation, escorts to doctor visits, and any other type of nonmedical assistance your loved one may need in order to live at home longer. If you need to get away for a few hours a week or overnight, in-home care can ease the worry, especially if the in-home caregiver is familiar to your loved one because he or she provides regular services.
How to get started: You can find personal care assistants on your own by asking friends and neighbors for referrals. Or use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to search for in-home care agencies (most provide personal care assistants) by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.
3. Adult day services What they are: Adult day services -- also called adult day health services, adult daycare, or respite care -- provide care and supervision outside the home for older adults with physical or mental limitations. Many provide limited health services, mind and body exercise, social activities, meals, transportation, and other support services. Most offer a safe, supervised environment -- even for those with dementia or who are so frail they'd otherwise have to be cared for in a skilled nursing facility. Adult day services often operate as stand-alone centers or in connection with senior centers, churches, hospitals, or residential care facilities.
How they help: Adult day services provide an important option to families who can't afford full-time, in-home care and need some way to keep their loved busy and engaged in a safe, supportive, supervised place. Adult day services also provide caregivers with much-needed temporary relief, whether the services are used for a few hours a week or more extensively.
How to get started: It's a good idea to tour possible adult day services providers to get the best fit. Two good places to find leads:
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The following ten organizations and individuals can help you meet your responsibilities, make you feel less alone, and cut your stress if you're helping someone who's receiving care at home.
1. Companion care services What they are: Companion care providers do just what the name says: provide company for older adults, especially those who are shut-ins because of frailty or a dementing illness (such as mild- to moderate-stage Alzheimer's disease), or who live alone. Sometimes called "elder companions," these aides keep a watchful eye, dispense daily medications, drive to haircut appointments, safeguard someone unsteady on his or her feet, read aloud, play cards, prepare light meals and snacks, and otherwise function as an extra set of hands, eyes, and feet for your loved one. Companion care is a growing subset of in-home care services.
How they help: Companion care is ideal for someone who would otherwise have to spend part of the day alone and who requires some light assistance. Family members can work or handle other activities knowing their loved one isn't left alone. Companion care also provides a valuable social benefit, decreasing isolation and improving mood. Warm relationships are often formed when a consistent companion is on the job.
How to get started: You can find companions on your own in much the same way you'd find a babysitter: by talking to neighbors, friends, or family members. Or use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to seach for in-home care agencies by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.
2. Personal care assistants What they are: In addition to providing companion care, personal care assistants offer assistance with all kinds of activities of daily living, from grocery shopping to such nonmedical personal care as toileting, dressing, grooming, and bathing. They can also provide temporary respite care for families.
How they help: Many families enlist personal care assistants -- hired independently or through in-home care agencies -- to solve problems in their home care situation, such as a small woman hiring a strong aide who can lift a spouse for bathing, or a son concerned about privacy hiring a woman to bathe his mother. Personal care assistants can arrange for meal preparation, escorts to doctor visits, and any other type of nonmedical assistance your loved one may need in order to live at home longer. If you need to get away for a few hours a week or overnight, in-home care can ease the worry, especially if the in-home caregiver is familiar to your loved one because he or she provides regular services.
How to get started: You can find personal care assistants on your own by asking friends and neighbors for referrals. Or use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to search for in-home care agencies (most provide personal care assistants) by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.
3. Adult day services What they are: Adult day services -- also called adult day health services, adult daycare, or respite care -- provide care and supervision outside the home for older adults with physical or mental limitations. Many provide limited health services, mind and body exercise, social activities, meals, transportation, and other support services. Most offer a safe, supervised environment -- even for those with dementia or who are so frail they'd otherwise have to be cared for in a skilled nursing facility. Adult day services often operate as stand-alone centers or in connection with senior centers, churches, hospitals, or residential care facilities.
How they help: Adult day services provide an important option to families who can't afford full-time, in-home care and need some way to keep their loved busy and engaged in a safe, supportive, supervised place. Adult day services also provide caregivers with much-needed temporary relief, whether the services are used for a few hours a week or more extensively.
How to get started: It's a good idea to tour possible adult day services providers to get the best fit. Two good places to find leads:
- Use Caring.com's Senior Living Directory to search for adult day services by city or zip code -- and to see ratings and reviews.
- Contact the staff at your local Area Agency on Aging and ask for a referral.
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