What is in home assistance, home health care or caregiving?

Home care includes a wide array of basic and more complex services designed to support and care for the elderly. Although many people might need home health care following a major surgery, seniors often need different kinds of services and need them over a longer period of time. Here are the basics of home care for seniors in Houston, courtesy of Patient Caregivers.

The term home health care refers to a variety of medical or health-oriented services provided in the home. For the elderly person who needs some assistance to remain in the home but is not able to be fully independent, home health care offers both service and peace of mind. At Patient Caregivers, our friendly, competent staff provide companionship and ensure you or your loved one stay safe and have all needs met while remaining at home.

Trying to care for an elderly relative is stressful, and it means that children can no longer be just family members because they are also required to be caregivers – sometimes the two roles are at variance. With Patient Caregivers, seniors who need home care can receive services targeted to their individual needs and situation. They can remain in their own homes, surrounded by loving family, while still receiving necessary care that is both compassionate and safe.

Do my senior parents or loved one need home care? How do I know when it’s time to find home care for my elderly parents or loved one?

Although injuries and illness may mean the need for ongoing care, many individuals simply need some extra help. Advancing age may make it more difficult to perform basic tasks of daily living, or a senior may no longer be comfortable driving. Some individuals need help managing their medications or with basic hygiene. Home health care can ensure all of those needs are met in the familiar surroundings of one’s own home.

By offering support early in the transition, you may potentially improve or slow the progression of the dementia or disability of the affected parent while preserving the wherewithal of the other. This support could be in the form of sitters, maids, and/or financial planners. Focus your efforts on their needs.

Basic home health is for the person who wants to remain at home despite physical limitations. These clients may need help with meal preparation, grooming, shopping, housework or transportation. Some clients need nursing care or services like physical or occupational therapy. Although each agency is different, nearly all offer services that include basic support as well as nursing care for more complex needs. Each client’s care plan is customized to meet his or her individual needs.

If you need assistance, perhaps someone to provide companionship or supervise an elderly relative while you are planning a more permanent solution, please give us a call. We provide a variety of home health services including transportation, meal preparation and housekeeping. For more information about Patient Caregivers or to learn how Patient Caregivers can help you and your loved one, please contact us at (713) 227-3448.

How do I talk to my elderly parents or loved one about caregiving and home assistance?

You took the right first step by asking the question. You may already have solutions in mind, ready to implement. Remember, change can be emotional and disruptive for an elderly person. Open the doors to communication, but start slow. Offer options, not demands. Suggest–and for best results, pay for–a caregiver to visit their home once a week. You can choose the caregiver based on the need (e.g. handle chores like laundry, pay bills, run errands, play companion, etc.).

What should my family and I expect with home care?

Home care services are designed around the basic activities of living that an elderly person might find difficult. For example, shopping and meal preparation can become difficult if the senior has vision issues and can’t drive, or arthritis limits his or her ability to prepare a meal. Housekeeping activities require the ability to ambulate without assistance and to maintain balance while dusting or doing the dishes.

These are the sorts of activities for which home care services are designed, as well as basic hygiene or helping a senior dress and bathe. The companionship provided by the caregivers is also important for many seniors.

My elderly parents or loved one are not ready to leave their home – how can home care help them?

Provide them with options, not with demands. Jointly meet with their financial counselor. In the average household children inevitably gain control of their parent’s financial interests, either through dementia or death. By discussing it early on, you are giving them the opportunity to help control how the money will be spent should one or both of them become incapacitated.

Preparing frozen meals is easy and may be life-saving for your parents. Poor appetite and resulting weight loss is common in the elderly, partly due to their decreased ability to taste, decreased metabolic demand, and the effort that is required to prepare a meal for two.

Medication error is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. The sad truth is that it is always preventable. Today’s technology combined with the industry’s increasing competition for the older person’s dollar has produced some very cheap methods of providing accurate medication delivery. These devices will never replace the careful oversight of attentive kids or paid caregivers, but they have become invaluable in many nursing homes, assisted living environments, senior centers, and elderly households.

How will a move or change effect my elderly parents or loved ones?

Many people might not realize that for an older adult, any kind of a move causes disruption. In addition to the physical changes, a move for an older adult has other implications related to his or her independence. Many older adults are less mentally flexible than they once were, which adds to the emotional stress.

After living in a home or apartment for many years, people have routines. It might be the first cup of coffee in a sunny kitchen looking out over the garden. It could be the comfortable chair that has molded to your body, with a table that holds your knitting or crossword puzzle right at hand. It’s your home and you know exactly where everything is. Most people derive considerable comfort from those routines.

A move means that all of those routines must change. For example, someone moves into a retirement home. Now that morning cup of coffee means a trip to the dining room. That favorite chair must be left behind. Suddenly your whole world is turned upside down. It’s worse if something like Harvey forces a move and there is minimal time for planning or to get used to the idea of a change. The older adult may become irritable or have difficulty sleeping.

You can help an older person adjust to a move by giving them as much control over the decision-making process as possible. Try to allow sufficient time to process the changes. Lend a supportive ear while also encouraging your loved one to recognize the benefits of a move. We might be able to help. For more information about Patient Caregivers or to learn how Patient Caregivers can help you and your loved one, please contact us at (713) 227-3448

How do I discuss finances and home care costs with my elderly parents or loved ones?

Open up communication and find a non-confrontational way to discuss finances. This is easier said than done, but being open and honest up front is the best way to start. Share reading materials on financial planning. Offer to bring them up to date on technology. If you are not financially savvy, don’t fake it; access available resources. Either educate yourself or employ a certified financial planner to help you and your parents forge a plan. It is money well spent and you gain the trust as a caregiver. Start with the basics. Everyone, especially the elderly, should legally select an individual to represent their interest when it comes to their finances (durable power of attorney) and health (medical power of attorney). This is often difficult to discuss openly because when there are two or more siblings, one may be better suited for this role than the other. Perhaps the best representative is another family member or friend.

Regardless, it must be someone whom the elderly person trusts. In most states these documents are very powerful and allow the designee complete control over the respective interests of the incapacitated individual. There is an immediate assumption that the children have an honorable interest in their parents’ well-being. Again, that is not always the case; but unfortunately, the elderly have little choice. If they don’t make the decision early, under their time-table, it will be made for them and often by a court-appointed attorney who is in the market for a new pool. Unless you are a certified financial or investment analyst with a proven “successful” track record for the elderly, don’t become your parent’s financial planner. That role carries too much responsibility and risk. Search for an analyst that’s been at the same respectable firm for years; the older the better. Investing for the elderly should be focused on consistent income from low-risk, safe and secure investments.

Find the firm that will allow your parents the option to pay the analyst based on commission for transactions, rather than on a percentage of the holdings. My father rarely bought or sold anything and therefore the “commission on transactions” method of payment made more financial sense for him. If your parents will allow it, get to know their investment broker. Schedule frequent meetings and ask a lot of questions. Make it obvious that while you are there as a support for your parents, you are also there to oversee performance. Minimize expenses to the bare necessities. Making the bathtub more accessible doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to modify the entire bathroom to meet the ADA standards for the disabled. For the same amount of money you could provide your parents with a sitter who could help them with all of their daily activities. Help your parents navigate through the financial clutter. Provide them with options, not demands.

What kinds of things should I watch out for when checking in on my senior parents?

Nutrition is a vital part of overall health, but in the elderly person, nutritional problems may be unrecognized or under-diagnosed. Elderly individuals may not eat well for a variety of reasons, and in many cases, changes in nutritional status happen slowly. Since decreased muscle mass is a normal part of aging, signs of malnutrition and weight loss may go unrecognized until they become acute.

As people age, they need fewer calories to maintain their weight. At the same time, they don’t absorb nutrients as well, so the diet must be highly nutritious to prevent protein depletion and vitamin deficiency. Diminished sense of taste and smell and dental or gastrointestinal problems may cause the individual to limit certain foods. Many older people lose interest in preparing or eating food if they live alone. Physical limitations may prevent shopping or limit the ability to prepare food.

Promoting better nutrition in the elderly typically comes down to three main issues: assuring a well-balanced, nutritious diet, acquiring and preparing the meals and providing companionship. Good quality protein, healthy fats and plenty of fruits and vegetables, as well as some whole grains, should form the basis of the diet. Someone to do the shopping or an in-home meal service can ensure a client has access to foods. Companionship can make meals pleasant and encourage the client to eat.

Exercise is one of the five keys to ensuring a good quality of life (proper nutrition, social and financial independence, friends, and access to good medical care are the other four), especially with the elderly. Make sure they have access to exercise and social opportunities.

How do I start the process?

If you need assistance, perhaps someone to provide companionship or supervise an elderly relative while you are planning a more permanent solution, please give us a call. We provide a variety of home health services including transportation, meal preparation and housekeeping. For more information about Patient Caregivers or to learn how Patient Caregivers can help you and your loved one, please contact us at (713) 227-3448.

My senior parents are having a harder time getting around and I’m worried they will injure themselves. How can I make their home environment safe? Injury is the leading cause of death in the elderly, and falls are the most common cause of injury. Your priority should be injury prevention, specifically as it relates to falls. Many falls are the result of visual disturbances in the elderly, and most falls occur in the dark, making nightlights essential at bedtime. Bright lighting is essential and an easy remedy to a potentially dangerous situation. Just as one must speak louder to someone who is hearing disabled, the lights should shine brighter for someone with poor vision.

Ideally, the living environment for the elderly person should be only one story with no steps. If you do have steps, you must have a hand rail or a banister, which is easy to access (e.g. middle of the steps), with a hand grip no more than 2 inches in diameter and comfortable to grip, like the handle of a broom. Remember that people have hand preferences. If an elderly parent is left-handed, they do not feel secure with a right-handed railing. In that situation, it is probably better to install two railings, one on each side of the steps.

Equally important is that the base be firmly planted into the ground. Most elderly have difficulty ambulating as they age forcing a dependency on stationary objects in their path to be used as a means to support their balance.

To make your home Elderly Friendly (EF), avoid steps, dim lighting, and TRIP Targets:

Incidents, Rugs, Toys, Pets, Tools, Shoes, Satchels, Briefcases, Suitcases, Bookbags, Tables, Furniture, Art, Sculptures, Rough spots, Gaps, Electrical Cords/Cables

Be sure to take time and help your loved one learn to navigate their new environment. Remember, changes can be disorienting and, therefore, dangerous. Take time to help them find their confidence and comfort in their new home. How will a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, affect my elderly parents or loved ones? Natural disasters leave plenty of physical destruction behind such as water, mud, and debris. Victims, often relieved and thankful to be alive, are often heard saying: “We just lost stuff.” However, it’s much more than that, especially for an older person.

Excessive mold exposure can be a problem for many people, especially those with weakened immune systems. For those seniors who are able to return to their homes, dealing with mold is likely to be an ongoing issue. Mold exposure can cause allergic reactions, respiratory symptoms, asthma and other negative health responses. Typical symptoms include systemic signs such as fatigue, headache, joint pain and stiffness. Mold exposure can affect people’s ability to concentrate and may also affect memory.

Common respiratory symptoms include chronic cough, sinus congestion and shortness of breath. Toxic mold, or varieties that emit toxins into the air, is most prevalent immediately after the flood, but mold can continue to be an issue for years because it spreads by spores which may lie dormant for a long time. If you or a loved one are looking into returning to a flooded home, you should protect yourselves against mold. Masks can prevent inhaling spores and gloves will protect your hands if you are cleaning up or sorting through water-damaged belongings. These items should be available through local drugstores or home building stores (they are also used in construction). If you have caregivers helping with an elderly relative, their employers should provide protective equipment.

If you need assistance perhaps someone to provide companionship or supervise an elderly relative while you get on with clean up, please give us a call. We provide a variety of home health services including transportation, meal preparation and housekeeping. For more information about Patient Caregivers or to learn how Patient Caregivers can help you and your loved one, please contact us at (713) 227-3448.

I’m out of state, how do I arrange in home care assistance and caregiving for my loved one in Texas?

We can help you get started. Our company, Patient Caregivers, originated from the personal experiences of our owners, one of whom needed to arrange out of state travel and care (read about his personal experience here: https://patientcaregivers.com/deciding-care/. They wanted to simplify the difficult and frustrating process of finding Compassionate, Patient, Trustworthy, Qualified and Experienced Caregivers for clients and their families. If you need assistance, perhaps someone to provide companionship or supervise an elderly relative while you are planning a more permanent solution, please give us a call. We provide a variety of home health services including transportation, meal preparation and housekeeping. For more information about Patient Caregivers or to learn how Patient Caregivers can help you and your loved one, please contact us at (713) 227-3448.

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