When deciding on the “right time” for your loved one to start homecare, there are many considerations to take into account. One of the most important aspects of any decision is thorough communication with everyone involved so that everyone feels comfortable with additional support being provided.
Several factors can add together to help you arrive at a decision to begin homecare. While none of the factors alone that we discuss in this post can tell you if it’s time to start homecare, evaluating each one can be an excellent way to frame the discussion.
Your Loved One’s Living Situation
People who already live with someone may be more open to the idea of having additional support and care in their home setting. On the flip side, if your loved one already lives with a competent caregiver, additional help may be less necessary. But even in these cases, we find that people who live with someone else often underestimate the reduction in stress and gains in quality of life that can occur when a professional home health caregiver is present in the home.
People who live alone may be more reluctant to agree to having a “stranger” come into their home to provide care. Communication and openness can help to reduce concerns, and a focus on finding a provider they feel comfortable with can be critically important to ensure the long-term viability of homecare. At Blue Water Homecare, we work diligently to match each family with the right homecare caregiver in Central Texas based on client schedules and needs. If the caregiver is not the right “fit” for any reason, we can assign another to ensure that homecare is the best possible experience for everyone involved.
Your Loved One’s Memory
People with significant short-term memory challenges are often some of the best candidates for homecare services. But even if your loved one only sometimes has memory lapses, or shows no symptoms of cognitive decline, there are many other reasons why homecare could still be a good fit. This is particularly true when a loved one suffers from a serious physical disability.
Your Loved One’s Physical Condition
Does your loved one often need help with daily chores around the house? Are they able to take care of all aspects of personal hygiene and routine cleaning? Do they have trouble making meals, getting in and out of the car, or making it to medical appointments? Physical decline is an inevitable part of aging, and the more physically limited a person is, the more they can benefit from homecare services.
Frequency of Falls or Accidents
Falls and other at-home accidents are a very serious matter for the elderly population. A single accident can cause physical or cognitive damage that may last the rest of a person’s life. And in many cases, these types of accidents occur when older people “overdo it” and strain to complete activities that used to be easy for them.
A central value of homecare is to keep a loved one safe and help them age in place as comfortably as possible. Having a person who provides support for more challenging daily activities lessens the risk of falls and serious accidents significantly.
Openness to Assistance
The absolute best case when beginning homecare is for your loved one to have come to you saying that some additional support and assistance around the house could be beneficial. But for many reasons, it’s often the case that family members must be the ones to start the discussion.
If you think it may be time for homecare services, you can try to ask your loved ones some questions, such as “How would you feel if someone came to help with some chores now and then?” or “Is there anything you feel you could use more help doing around the house?” If you have other friends or family members who have had a positive homecare experience, sharing those experiences can help to lower anxiety and plant the seed to ease your loved one into a more open mind about homecare.
