While many aging adults are still physically robust enough to live independently in their later years, there are plenty who struggle with one or more moderate to serious medical issues. For those who have impaired physical or mental abilities, they often need outside help from family members or hired assistants to get through a typical day. As the baby boomer population continues to age, the demand for in-home elder care providers is rising as people see what a fine option it is.

When Seniors Need In-Home Care

Both family caregivers and their elderly relatives worry about health and safety. As seniors struggle with different health issues, they often can’t complete many of the daily tasks required for living independently. Some of the more common health issues that millions of elderly adults face each day include Parkinson’s disease, vertigo, poor vision or blindness, diabetes, broken bones, dementia and the after-effects of a stroke.

Limited physical ability means that aging adults can’t do a lot of personal care duties like getting dressed or household duties like cooking or cleaning. As they are considering all the options, from aging in place at home to long-term care facilities, more and more families are embracing in-home elder care providers as the way forward. The rise of elder care providers is a direct result of family caregivers and seniors recognizing all the benefits it provides.

How Elder Care Providers Help Seniors

Even if family caregivers want to provide full-time care for an aging relative, it’s usually not possible due to their own family demands, careers, and other responsibilities. When family members cannot be with the elderly loved one, it makes sense to have a professional elder care provider in the home. These trained and experienced assistants know how to help aging adults with every part of daily life. With compassion and skill, they are on hand to step in whenever they are needed.

Elder care providers can handle a range of personal care services for aging adults, such as bathing, dressing, grooming and hygiene. They can also do light housework, from dishes and sweeping to doing a load of laundry. The in-home care assistant can be scheduled whenever they are needed, especially during times when the aging adult would otherwise be alone. There are even night care options with some elder care provider agencies for seniors who need assistance then. The expertise and care that elder care providers bring to the aging adult’s life allow them to remain at home despite numerous health issues.

As more seniors come face to face with decisions about how they want to spend their final decades, many are taking a serious look at elder care providers. With many agencies out there, that meet different needs for flexibility, cost and even specialization, there’s sure to be an elder care provider program that fits each senior and their family.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering Elder Care in Slaton, TX, please contact the caring staff at Best In-Home Care (806) 412-0723.

 

April is Occupational Therapy Month. While it’s a therapeutic service that helps the elderly, some people don’t really know what occupational therapy is. Learn more and find out how occupational therapy helps seniors who want to age at home.

The goal of an occupational therapist is to assist people in doing the things they need to do each day. If there are things your parent wants to do but is unable, occupational therapists can often help with those goals, too.

 

A Look at How an Occupational Therapist Can Help

Living at home, you have activities of daily living (ADL). You also have instrumental activities of daily living IADL). The ADLs are the tasks you must do to survive, such as go to the bathroom and eat a meal. IADLs are the things you want to do independently. They include tasks like cooking a healthy meal, shopping for groceries, and scheduling appointments.

An occupational therapist can help with all of those tasks. If you want to grow old in your home, an occupational therapist can work with you and your family to determine what you need to do to stay safe. That may include teaching you how to remain mobile when you need a walker or how to use an extendable grabber tool to get hard to reach items.

Occupational therapists may work with your parent to help alleviate pain that keeps your parent from doing certain tasks. If your dad doesn’t button his shirt because of arthritis in the fingers, an occupational therapist may teach him to use hot or cold compresses to soothe the pain and make getting dressed easier.

Several chronic conditions that are helped by occupational therapy. They include Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, diabetes, and stroke.

To work with an occupational therapist, talk to your mom or dad’s doctor first. You may need the referral if there are plans to get health insurance to cover some of the cost. The occupational therapist will assess your parent’s abilities and come up with strategies to help improve your parent’s abilities.

 

Caregivers Offer Additional Benefits

Occupational therapists help your parent learn how to best use existing skills to live independently. Caregivers fill in the gaps where things are simply too hard for your parent. If your parent’s vision has changed, the doctor may say driving is unsafe. An occupational therapist can’t magically restore eyesight. Caregivers can put your parent in the car and drive to the nearest store or doctor’s office.

Caregivers offer other services like assistance with personal care, meal preparation, and companionship. Call to discuss rates today.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering a Caregiver in Post, TX, please contact the caring staff at Best In-Home Care (806) 412-0723.

 

Sources:
https://www.aota.org/About-Occupational-Therapy/

It’s not unusual at all for aging adults to collect quite a bit in the way of belongings. At some point, you might have to help your senior to pare down those items and it’s not always so easy to do.

Your Senior May Have Sentimental Ties

So many items can remind your aging adult of specific memories or of people she loves. These types of items are very tough to deal with because of that emotional impact. Some of these objects may be ones that she can hold onto or that she can pass on now to family members who will appreciate them.

She Might Be Convinced Her Stuff Is Valuable

Sometimes people keep items around because they’re convinced that those items will be worth a lot of money one day. Your elderly family member might not be holding onto those to make money for herself, either. She might believe that you and other descendants could one day profit. Try to get an accurate picture of whether she’s right or not and make decisions accordingly.

Dealing with Stuff Sometimes Means Accepting Mortality

Thinking about doing anything with items that she’s lived with for decades can be a blow to your senior’s system. Even if she knows that her health is not so great, she still may not have thought consciously about her own mortality. Determining what to do with her belongings can bring that issue front and center for her in a scary way.

Temporary Options Might Help

If your elderly family member is having a really difficult time parting with some of her belongings, sometimes a temporary solution can help. Consider renting a small storage space and place some of the items there. This can give your senior time to enjoy the space that you’re creating and she might come to a decision about some items given a little more time.

Maintain the Space You Gain

Now that you’re gaining a little bit of space with your senior’s belongings, try to maintain that ground. Senior care providers can help with cleaning and light housework, which can be a great way to ensure that spaces don’t get cluttered again. They can also help you to stay in the loop about whether those spaces are starting to fill up again.

For a lot of people, stuff is just stuff. But there are often big psychological implications with clearing out objects and items that have been with your senior for a long time. Be gentle with her and with yourself as you work through what to do with some of her belongings.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering Senior Care in Ralls, TX, please contact the caring staff at Best In-Home Care (806) 412-0723.

When you’re just trying to get your senior the most help that you possibly can, it’s irritating when she won’t accept that help. There might be a lot more than you think behind that refusal, too.

Refusing Help Is Definitely Frustrating

It’s important to admit from the start that you’re frustrated. When you know that something could help your senior’s quality of life, it’s definitely frustrating for her to refuse whatever it is. Admitting that can help you to relax a little bit and take the next few steps.

Listen to Her Reasons

Ask your senior again why she’s against this idea and really listen. Some of her reasons might not seem all that reasonable. So it’s important to weed through them. At the heart of her objections you might find fear, particularly fear that she’ll lose her independence or even that she’ll lose you as her caregiver. It’s not uncommon at all for aging adults to worry that having elderly care providers step in means that family members are stepping out.

Don’t Give Up

You have to be persistent, too. Just one conversation is not likely to be enough to sway your senior to your point of view. In all honesty, one conversation is likely not enough for her to truly open up to you about why she’s uncomfortable with having elder care providers assisting her.

Be Patient with Her

Along with persistence, you need to practice patience, too. She may be resisting because she’s honestly scared to be dealing with one or more new people in her life. It can take time to become okay with that idea. You need to persist on the topic, but do so in a caring, loving, and patient way.

Look for Compromises

Finding compromises is where both you and your elderly family member are more likely to achieve that sweet spot in this situation. Perhaps you’ll hire elderly care providers, but they’ll only be there on a temporary basis or only during hours in which your senior is okay with them being there. Or maybe you agree that they’ll only handle certain activities for your senior.

There are likely going to be quite a few times when you and your senior don’t agree on something that she needs or should be doing. You might find it helpful to apply this same sort of process to those issues so that you can get to a better place with those issues more quickly.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering Elderly Care in Lubbock, TX, please contact the caring staff at Best In-Home Care (806) 412-0723.

Laundry rooms can be a big source of trouble, especially if your elderly family member doesn’t have the same cognitive abilities that she did in the past. You can secure parts of the room or the entire room, but it’s probably a good idea to put some plan in place.

Secure Chemicals

Chemicals are one of the biggest safety concerns in your senior’s laundry room. Besides bleach, fabric softener, and laundry detergent, there may be other household chemicals in this room, too. Put them in a high cabinet and lock the doors, if possible. Remember that pods, while convenient, are even more dangerous because they look like candy to some people, which can especially be a problem if your senior has cognitive problems.

Close Doors to Machines and Secure Them

Laundry machines can be an intriguing spot for your senior. She might put things in the machines that don’t belong in them, which can be a problem later. Close the doors to laundry machines when they’re not in use. You might also want to consider adding child locks to the doors, just to secure them further.

Consider Unplugging Machines

If your elderly family member is prone to turning on the washer or dryer randomly, you might want to unplug them when they aren’t in use. This can be a tough habit to get into, but it can keep your senior’s electrical bill down and reduce the risk of problems caused by someone turning the machines on when they shouldn’t be.

Clothespins, Drying Racks, and Hangers Could Pose Problems

Some of the other items in the laundry room could also pose issues. Hangars, clothespins, and drying racks can all be tripping hazards and can be confusing for seniors with cognitive issues. It’s a good idea to keep these items corralled instead of hanging around loosely.

Block the Laundry Room

When you’re not sure how to secure all the little items in a laundry room, one of the best things that you can do when you have a door is simply to secure that door. A sliding lock up at the top of the door’s frame can be a really simple answer. Then you’re still able to access everything with little hassle but you know the room is secure when the lock is engaged.

Home care providers can take care of the laundry for your senior, leaving her little to no reason to have to venture into the room at all. Consider this solution especially if your elderly family member has dementia or other cognitive problems that cause her difficulty with reasoning.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering Home Care in Tahoka, TX, please contact the caring staff at Best In-Home Care (806) 412-0723.

Excerpt: For some aging adults the laundry room might not be as safe as it was in the past.