If you’re responsible for the care of a loved one, how do you know when it might be time to find in-home healthcare and support? Most people, including seniors, those with disabilities, or even children with an illness, prefer to be at home in the environment they are most familiar with and comfortable in. But often the dependance on a family member to provide care, becomes a stressful burden and may even put the care-giver in a situation they are not qualified to handle, creating a potential safety hazard that can become life-threatening. So how do you know when it’s time to seek the help of professionals and why is home healthcare often a superior solution to assisted living, a rehab facility, or a nursing home? Here are some things to look out for and things to consider.
Recognize the Warning Signs
If you observe any of the following conditions, it may be time to contact us to learn more about the services we provide and if the timing may be right to hire one of our professional care providers:
- Changes in personal appearance including personal hygiene or cleanliness of clothes
- Changes in overall household tidiness and organization
- Inability to complete once familiar tasks
- Unopened mail or lack of interest in daily responsibilities
- Lack of fresh food in the house
- Weight loss
- Forgetfulness about medications
- Unexplained bruising
The above are just a few warning signs that it may be time to provide consistent and maybe even continuous care in the home from a trained professional. A noticeable decline in personal care and grooming habits is a sure warning sign that your loved one may be struggling physically or mentally to meet their own needs, and the time required to help them is just too much for you to handle.
In the case of pediatric care, most care providers have the responsibility of work or also parenting multiple children. Caring for a special needs child can be overwhelming because so much is involved. If you’re a care provider and struggling with the following, then it may be a great time to consider support:
- Administering & monitoring medications multiple times a day
- Assisting the child with the daily activities of living
- Offering physical exercise opportunities and potential physical rehabilitation exercises
- Helping with personal care and grooming
- Overseeing medical equipment needs
The Benefits of In-Home Healthcare
Sometimes you can’t avoid moving your loved one to a care facility, but often times many don’t realize that in-home healthcare can not only be a superior option to a care facility, but a much more affordable solution and one that the patient overwhelmingly prefers. Benefits of home healthcare include are;
- Most cost-effective healthcare delivery available today versus an institution
- Individualized and tailored services by a registered nurse, certified nurse’s assistant or in-home healthcare professional
- Home healthcare promotes healing as studies show patients recover faster in their own home and their quality of life is better.
- Home healthcare reinforces the support of family members or even replaces that support by a family member, removing the burden that can create stress.
If you’re uncertain if the time is right to consider in-home healthcare, or would like more information about how Quality Private Duty Care can help you, please contact us. We’d be glad to help you in any way.