The Benefits of Home Health Care

For older adults, loss of independence and control over their lives is a frightening prospect. In fact, many problems sadly common among seniors are a result of being too proud to ask for help for worry that they’ll be put into a home, and something that could have been easily corrected or prevented while it was minor, becomes something much more serious or dangerous. But there’s a way for older adults to retain their independence into their twilight years, while still receiving the help they need and staying safe. And that is through home health care services.

• Scalability: Home health care services can be scaled up or down to meet an individual senior’s needs. Whether they need someone to provide them daily care from morning to evening, or they just need someone to check in one or a few times a week to help with some tasks around the house, the amount needed can be adjusted to fit.
• Independence: With home health care, older adults can continue doing everyday tasks in their home, like cooking, cleaning, walking, bathing and dressing. And they can continue doing it in the home they’ve been living in, allowing them to retain a sense of dignity and normalcy as things otherwise change around them.
• Safety and convenience: Seniors tend to be prescribed many different medications for conditions, and a home care aide can help with sorting and taking medications, making sure they’re not over or under-medicating themselves accidentally. Additionally, help with managing health conditions can prevent unnecessary or preventable trips to the hospital. Falls are one of the biggest and most preventable hazards to a senior’s health, and with a home health care aide helping to perform the tasks most associated with falls, or assisting in fall-proofing the home, tragedies can be avoided.
• Relief: Family caregivers frequently suffer from burnout or resentment due to the stress and difficulty of managing their own lives, while also being responsible for an elderly relative. Home health care shifts some or all of the burden of providing care off of family members, allowing them peace of mind and preventing burnout, allowing them to have a more meaningful relationship with their older relatives.
• Saves money: While you may assume that home health care is an expensive service, the truth is a different matter. Assistance in paying for it through things like social security or the VA are available, and when compared to the cost of assisted living or a retirement home, it looks very favorable. And with home health care preventing unnecessary trips to the hospital, or worsening of preventable conditions, you’ll experience both financial and emotional savings.
• High quality, personalized care: Because home health care is rooted in evidence based practices and standards of care, patients receive the right care at the right time, in their own home. And because care is provided by someone from the outside who comes into the home, the amount of care provided can be adjusted to be as much or as little as your older relative needs.