Home health care refers to a range of in-home services provided to seniors experiencing injury or illness while allowing them to retain their independence. This article explains five ways to plan for home care services for your senior loved one.
How can I plan for home care services?
The adult day-care and in-home care industries have changed in many ways. Reinforcing seniors’ rights and removing stress factors related to choosing at-home care services have improved the process of selecting the services that best suit a senior’s specific healthcare needs.
Here we’ll help you formulate a winning recipe using five ways to plan for home care services for your senior:
- Know what kind of services qualify as home care
Here are some examples:
- Post-surgical care
- Wound care
- Nutritional education
- Monitoring the consumption of food and drink
- Administering medications at specific times of the day
- Injections
- IV treatment
- Assisting with pain-relief measures
- House chores such as cleaning and transportation
- Plan for home care sooner rather than later
Planning sooner will help combat financial stress and help avoid rushing the process later if the need arises unexpectedly. Finding the right home care service does not have to be a burden. With some research and effort, you will be able to identify a home care plan that suits your needs.
- Determine if you qualify for Medicaid or Medicare
Maintaining insurance is a problem for many U.S. Citizens. Many seniors have too many assets to qualify for Medicaid but not enough funds to be approved by insurance companies.
Medicaid may cover in-home health care assistance depending on the state you live in, although they have stringent income requirements. Do your research ahead of time and establish whether you qualify for funding from Medicaid or Medicare. This will significantly assist the financial aspects of your home care service plan.
- Home care safety
Some risks are inherent with at-home care: lack of caregiving education, infection control, the physical layout of the dwelling, and challenges with communication, to name a few.
As Harvard Business Review affirms, “it is important to rigorously assess and mitigate these risks when moving care to the home. There should be clear inclusion and exclusion criteria to assess the suitability of a home-based solution.”
- Encourage social interaction once home care starts
Try to create opportunities to engage in social activities within the family and the community. Engagement can promote a state of well-being, as engaging with peers, the community, and your family may stimulate positivity and mitigate stress. For ideas on activities to participate in, please see Vive Health’s 110 Activities for Elderly & Seniors.
Takeaway
To access Senior Resource Connectors’ Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) checklist, please click here. This checklist will assist in assessing the type of care needed and the frequency of the home care services required.
When it comes to planning home health care services, the adage applies – failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Therefore, to avoid financial and familial stress later, we recommend planning as soon as possible.
Contact us to get further access to resources, advice, and guidance – at no cost to you.
*Disclaimer: This blog post was inspired by a recent article posted by Aging In Place. To view the original, click here.
