When seniors decide to age in place, they might need a variety of different types of help. In the beginning stages, family caregivers often take on whatever tasks seniors need help managing. For a lot of reasons, that’s not always sustainable, though. That’s why it’s helpful for family caregivers to understand the differences between home care and companion care at home, so they can get the right caregivers in place.
Personal Care Support
Personal care tasks are activities related to sometimes embarrassing needs, like help with bathing or eating. Personal care providers offer help with personal hygiene tasks, getting dressed, incontinence care, and other related tasks that older adults may no longer be able to handle alone. Seniors in need of personal care support may also have mobility issues and difficulty with other types of tasks, and personal care providers can be there for them.
Everyday Task Support
A common type of professional caregiver is a home care provider. These caregivers assist with all sorts of hands-on care needs, like preparing meals, helping with light household tasks, and assisting with mobility. This type of care is extremely common and is very flexible to help with the exact needs that seniors have.
Companion Care at Home
Companion care is about making sure that seniors have someone to spend time with, talk to, and engage in a variety of activities with on a regular basis. Companionship is so important for aging adults, especially when they aren’t able to get out of the house as often as they used to. Companion caregivers might watch favorite television shows with seniors, do puzzles together, or simply spend time out in the garden with the seniors they care for.
Skilled Nursing Care
Seniors who have health needs, like wounds that need to be managed, might need skilled nurses to come to their homes and help them. This type of health-related care doesn’t handle household tasks, but they might work in conjunction with home care providers to keep seniors comfortable. This type of care is usually for seniors who don’t need to be in a hospital setting, but need help from a nurse.
A Mix of Several Types of Care
Sometimes what seniors need most is a mix of several different types of care. They may need assistance with several different areas of life and find that a mix of professional care providers helps them to meet those needs. For instance, seniors may need nursing assistance for a while, then heal and only need companion care at home to help them feel less lonely. As their needs change, seniors may add or change the type of care they receive.
Working with professional caregivers ensures that seniors have the exact assistance they need at all times. Solutions like companion care at home are there to make life easier and safer for aging adults, helping them to live their lives on their own terms. Companion caregivers and other professional caregiver solutions allow seniors to remain as independent as possible and still have help when they need it the most.