The well-being of older family members becomes more important as they grow older and weaker. However, not all families live together in one place or house. Some parents live far from their children and it is not possible for children to come and take care of them at home.
Some families living together, children have to juggle work and caring for their sick or elderly parents and managing these activities can be very stressful for the family members. Often the demand for taking care of patients and their needs can result to burnout and physical, emotional, and psychological stress. This is why help is needed to maintain the status quo in the family.
Why is homecare necessary?
Health professionals (click here) can be there when you are not around. It can give you peace of mind when you are located far from your parents’ house or when you are away on a vacation for work. You can always ensure that they are able to eat on time and properly and have taken their medications on time. You can have the assurance that they are well cared for despite your absence.
Homecare professionals support the daily activities of the living and their day to day needs and personal care are being taken care of, it helps preserve their human life, their dignity, and their quality of life.
Homecare provides easy access to skilled nursing services and care while that the comfort of their own home. Licensed and certified caregivers can ensure that the complex needs of your patients are being addressed and you will not have to worry about it.
Proper diet and nutrition are being given by these caregivers. Their main focus is to take care of their patients; hence, proper diet and good nutrition are inclusive of their roles and tasks. You will no longer worry about what to feed them especially if you do not have any idea what food is allowed and not allowed for them. The caregivers can take charge of these things.
Medication management is also an important factor in taking care of the health of patients. Some families find it a struggle to manage the medication of their patients due to inexperience or lack of knowledge on what to do. This can result in mismanagement and errors in administering medications which can be fatal sometimes. Sites like https://www.healthline.com/health/administration-of-medication discuss further the importance of medication management. With appropriate caregivers, you can ensure that medication is managed properly and is administered well.
Homecare can help with light household chores like doing the groceries and preparing the food for your patients and taking care of their day to day needs. They can also do the laundry, vacuum carpets, do the dishes, clean the patient’s room, and other chores that the caregiver can do for the patient.
One-on-one focus is afforded to the patient so there is no chance of being neglected or their needs put not being catered to.
Finding the best homecare service
It is best to acquire a list of homecare providers near you and choose which is best for your needs. Here are some tips in choosing:
- Check how long have these agencies been serving the community. The length of service would determine their sustainability.
- Do they provide literature that describe their services, their eligibility, fees and their sources of funds? Do they have an outline of patients’ rights and responsibilities of the caregivers?
- How do they make their selection of caregivers and how do they train them? Are employment rules of the state applicable to them? How do they treat and compensate their employees?
- Will the caregivers be required to assess and evaluate the patient’s needs? Do they consult the physicians, specialists, families of the patients for more information about the patients’ needs?
- Will these caregivers involve the families in planning the patient’s care plan? It is important that the family is involved as they are also part of the secondary caregivers of the patient.
- Will the course of treatment of the patient be documented? How detailed are they in documenting those?
- What are its financial procedures? Are they clear on their fees and terms?
- How are they with patient confidentiality?
The following salient points to remember when choosing a homecare provider are: credibility as it is important that your chosen caregiver is reliable and dependable; affordability, as spending for medicines and care is already financially taxing to the family so it is important that you find a budget-efficient care provider; consider finding one that meets your needs or if your patient has preferences of their own – their comfort is imperative so listening to his preference is the best choice; lastly, consider the location and time suitability.
One of the very important points in hiring a home caregiver is to choose someone whom your patient can be comfortable with. However, this cannot be determined not unless you have tried one. You can hire and assess and consider feedback from your patient, then reconsider if necessary; patients’ emotional comfort is also important in their well-being.
And since this is homecare, it is important that you are also comfortable and can trust the caregiver as you will have to co-exist with him or her and work together for the benefit of your patients. Lastly, it is important that you see to it that proper documentation and regular assessment of your patient’s health status is reported.
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Image credit: Freepik
Peter Wallace has been an advocate for mental health awareness for years. He holds a master’s degree in counselling from the University of Edinburgh.
