The first thing that should come to mind when thinking about home health care for dementia patients is the biggest advantage it brings to elders—that of allowing them to stay in the comfort of their own homes for as long as possible.
Dementia home health care is far less confusing and disorienting for dementia patients than being cared for and looked after at an assisted living facility or a nursing home.
Familiar surroundings and daily routines at home provide that much-needed sense of security, calm, and peace of mind for seniors with memory and cognitive issues. Preparing schedules ahead of time can help ease dementia symptoms by following routines similar to those elders followed before they developed dementia.
Skilled services such as personal and nursing care; and services like companion care and homemaking services can be provided occasionally on a round-the-clock basis or depending on the need.
Home health aides and home health nurses offer this kind of flexibility and adaptability necessary for dealing with the challenges of dementia at any level, helping reduce avoidable hospital readmissions.
In-home care renders a professional and holistic approach to dementia care at home. It is specifically tailored to meet the needs of both the patient and the patient’s family because not all in-home services are the same. The first step to determining which type of service is right for your loved one is to understand the different types of in-home care services.
Some in-home services provide non-medical help, such as assistance with everyday living. Others require a higher level of medical assistance given by licensed health professionals upon the advice of the loved one's doctor.
In cases where patients don’t require specialized medical aid, these services provide comfort, supervision, and recreational activities.
This type of care involves helping an elderly dementia patient get out of bed, bathe, eat, walk and exercise.
A home health aide may cook basic meals, perform light housekeeping chores and run quick errands.
This is done by licensed medical personnel to make sure the treatment flow is fluid and stable. Wound dressing, pain management, physical therapy, and other medical needs are monitored.
Dementia is a degenerative condition that gets worse with age and makes daily living more difficult as the disease and time progresses. It isn’t just memory loss, which mostly requires memory care, it also affects behavior and overall mental health so it’s important to get the best home health care services for dementia patients.
This home care provider offers full-spectrum dementia home care services from highly trained caregivers that can accommodate age-related challenges. Their services range from companionship to round-the-clock nursing care. Nurse Next Door is a franchise system based in Canada that has over 200 franchise locations across Canada, the US, and Australia.
This affordable mission-based franchise has some 200 locations worldwide and is the only one of its kind to employ seniors themselves as caregivers. A patient is carefully matched with a fellow senior who is a match for his or her unique, individual needs.
The Home Instead family has a wide range of services from personal care to dementia care to transportation. They let senior patients flourish in the everyday routines they have come to know over the years, with a little help from their competent caregiving team without compromising the seniors’ sense of independence.
Home Instead provides personal and nurse-directed care, as well as hospice support, meal prep, home help, transportation, and medical care.
Now renamed The Key, this home care team is proud to say they’re the experts that families trust the most. From Personal Home care to Memory Care to Specialized Care, their caregivers are expertly trained to help and support people living with any type of cognitive decline from mild memory loss to advanced dementia. TheKey has delivered quality in-home care all around for twenty years in 27 states.
This network of home care franchised agencies have been providing compassionate senior care to families across the US since 1998. Their professional home caregivers are equipped with training and skills to meet whatever the patient requires, including a personalized home care plan that is customized to achieve your loved one’s needs.
They are available to give hourly care, overnight care, 24-hour care, respite care, hygiene assistance, meal planning and preparation, laundry, and housekeeping assistance.
Finding the right provider doesn’t have to be a struggle, but choosing who will provide home care is a very important decision. Home health care locators contain the most comprehensive database of home care and hospice agencies across the US and worldwide.
Once a list of prospective home health providers is established, the most important factors to consider are the length of service and quality of home care in deciding which home health provider is the best.
Plan ahead and research company credentials. Create a list of care needs and your expectations on how these needs should be met before calling a prospective provider.
Through this, you can ask anything directly about anything you want to know about the home care provider. Find out what kind of help they offer and how your loved one’s specific needs can be addressed.
Set up interviews at home. Invite potential home care providers to your own home. Prepare a list of questions beforehand and check to see how they react, and how informed, interested, and attentive they are. To discuss your impressions later, it is a good idea to have a third party present.
Background checks should be conducted and a list of references must be contacted. Look for feedback and testimonials from other clients and talk with people who have worked with the provider.
While there are many options when it comes to in-home dementia care services, it may still be difficult to decide which one to pick. These answers to common questions from families with elderly loved ones may help you decide.
The best in-home service type for any dementia patient depends on multiple factors such as the type degree of Dementia, the time and effort family members can spend, the age of the person with Dementia, as well as the environment where the patient has the best responses.
A live-in dementia caregiver is typically responsible for providing basic care services such as supervision, meal preparation, and recreational pursuits. There are occasions when specialized care is needed, which may require professional medical advice. In the end, the services that you may anticipate will be determined by the contract that you have in place.
In general, the government does not pay for full-time home healthcare coverage in the home for an older person on Medicare. If the elderly person with dementia is a veteran, they may be eligible for a program called "Aid and attendance," which helps pay for in-home health care.
Long-term dementia care is a major issue for individuals who have loved ones suffering from late-stage dementia or Alzheimer's disease. However, there is no need to be concerned because, with so many options, there is always one that will meet a patient's specific needs.
Do you need more information regarding dementia care? Visit Senior Strong for more information on Dementia and general elderly care for your loved ones.
