Is In Home Care the Right Decision?
I can tell you from the beginning that this is not an easy decision nor is it one to be made lightly.
The type of care we choose for our elders has to be based on their needs.
Sometimes that's in home care and sometimes it isn't.
We were told our elder had two weeks to possibly two months to live.
Moving her out of her home under those circumstances was deemed unwise.
We set up in home care for her so she could die in peace.
As you will see later, she is still with us several years later.
Choosing: Both agencies we worked with were recommended.
I talked with the owners, she visited our elder and we talked about what they had to offer for our needs.
There were a lot of questions both from them and from us.
Team Building: 24/7 awake care, like what our elder needed, means building a team.
All of the caregivers had to get along with each other, our elder, me and follow the rules.
As we did not live nearby we had one caregiver who was the leader.
If she reported that a caregiver wasn't following instructions, we investigated.
It did cost a couple of people their jobs.
Team building also means that we, the children or grandchildren have to get to know each caregiver.
Some I only needed to talk to and watch once.
She told me she could hear our elder if she was needed, laid down on a couch far outside of hearing range and went to sleep.
She did not come back.
Most were wonderful people.
They were well trained and followed instructions.
They kept the caregiver log, noting moods, what our elder ate, bathroom visits (very important for a kidney patient) and when what medications were given.
One of the other people we had to let go had some missing pills on her watch.
For How Long: There are many reasons in-home care may be stopped, other than the death of the patient.
Some patients require more skilled nursing than can be provided in home.
In our case funding became a problem.
In-home care is extremely expensive.
We're talking five figures per month.
The best assisted living facilities are half that price.
Choosing what to do for an elderly parent will only be easy if the doctor tells you there's only one option.
Other than that, research and talking to your family is going to be what you need to find out of in-home is right for your situation.
The type of care we choose for our elders has to be based on their needs.
Sometimes that's in home care and sometimes it isn't.
We were told our elder had two weeks to possibly two months to live.
Moving her out of her home under those circumstances was deemed unwise.
We set up in home care for her so she could die in peace.
As you will see later, she is still with us several years later.
Choosing: Both agencies we worked with were recommended.
I talked with the owners, she visited our elder and we talked about what they had to offer for our needs.
There were a lot of questions both from them and from us.
Team Building: 24/7 awake care, like what our elder needed, means building a team.
All of the caregivers had to get along with each other, our elder, me and follow the rules.
As we did not live nearby we had one caregiver who was the leader.
If she reported that a caregiver wasn't following instructions, we investigated.
It did cost a couple of people their jobs.
Team building also means that we, the children or grandchildren have to get to know each caregiver.
Some I only needed to talk to and watch once.
She told me she could hear our elder if she was needed, laid down on a couch far outside of hearing range and went to sleep.
She did not come back.
Most were wonderful people.
They were well trained and followed instructions.
They kept the caregiver log, noting moods, what our elder ate, bathroom visits (very important for a kidney patient) and when what medications were given.
One of the other people we had to let go had some missing pills on her watch.
For How Long: There are many reasons in-home care may be stopped, other than the death of the patient.
Some patients require more skilled nursing than can be provided in home.
In our case funding became a problem.
In-home care is extremely expensive.
We're talking five figures per month.
The best assisted living facilities are half that price.
Choosing what to do for an elderly parent will only be easy if the doctor tells you there's only one option.
Other than that, research and talking to your family is going to be what you need to find out of in-home is right for your situation.
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