What is Home Care?
In Home Care is a broader term and covers a wide range of services and assistance. In other words, the type of care provided is for those who are unable to care for themselves. Some of the most important ones are listed below, along with a brief description:
Personal Care:
- All care that focuses on the care recipient’s personal hygiene is referred to as personal care. Personal care assistance may include help with showering or bathing, dressing, using the toilet, changing continence aids, shaving, applying lotions and cosmetics, brushing hair, and brushing teeth.
Housekeeping:
All housekeeping and cleaning tasks are referred to as domestic assistance. Cleaning the house, doing the dishes, and doing the laundry are examples of services.
Transportation-
This might entail driving the individual to appointments as well as accompanying them if necessary.
Shopping-
The home care professional can either drive the person to the store or assist them in doing their shopping, or they can do it themselves.
Nursing Care–
refers to the in home support services that a registered nurse is required to offer. Medication monitoring, wound dressing, injections, and nurse assessments are just a few examples.
Who needs In-Home Care?
From newborns to older adults, and everyone in between, everyone requires care at some point in their life. Most of the time, our relatives and friends are there to help us when we need it. Some people, however, require more attention than family and friends can supply.
In many of these cases, the individual in need of care (care receiver) is a new mother, has a disability, is elderly, has a serious illness, or has a mental health problem. Depending on the person’s needs, specific home care assistance will be implemented to help them live or manage at home.
Home care is the reason that many people who might have been forced to live in a nursing home, hospital, or institution, are now being cared for at their homes
Who Provides Home Care?
In most cases, the care recipient’s friends and relatives can offer them home care. However, if family and friends are unable to offer care, or if the care recipient wishes, professional care will be provided. Support workers, careers, community workers, personal care aides and assistants, and nursing assistants are all terms used to describe professional caregivers.
The terminology used in different countries will differ. Professional care employment requires different levels of competence and credentials depending on the country. It’s advisable to ask your healthcare provider about the minimum standards in your location.
What to Look For in a Home Care?
Here are some pointers to help you get started while looking for geriatric care services for your loved ones:
Licensing
Most states, require home care agencies to be licensed and inspected regularly. Your state or county health agency should be able to provide you with the necessary information. Even if your state does not need licensure, you should look for an organization that has been accredited in some way.
References
Shouldn’t we ask for recommendations for senior home care? We ask for references before hiring a renovation contractor or a babysitter, so why not for senior home care? Agencies that are willing to provide references should be chosen over those that are not. Furthermore, a company that refuses to provide references could be hiding something.
Insurance Status
Make certain to inquire about the insurance coverage for the particular home health aides that will be visiting your home. At the very least, the agency should be giving some form of insurance. It’s a plus if they need aides to get their supplemental insurance.
Medical Certification
Because the bulk of home care services are geared toward seniors, the firm you hire should be Medicare accredited. This certification states that an organization complies with federal health and safety regulations. Nothing less than the best for your family should be your goal.
Hiring Policies
Inquire about the hiring policies of any home care services you are considering. Do not work for a firm that does not go to great lengths to guarantee that employees are adequately screened, trained, and qualified for the job.
Final Words
Home care Walnut Creek allows people to avoid being admitted to hospitals while also allowing them to get help with chores they are unable to complete on their own. The patient stays at home and is visited by the home care provider. This may be the greatest option for many people, especially those who are in good condition despite physical limitations.