Home care is a service designed to help seniors stay safely and comfortably in their own homes as they get older. If you’re worried about your senior parent living alone, but they want to stay in their current home, home care is a good compromise. You will get the peace of mind of knowing that your parent isn’t alone and is getting the support they need. And your senior parent will get help with household tasks so they can continue living where they want to live.
If you live far away from a senior parent and you can’t pick up and move, but your senior parent doesn’t want to leave their current town, home care makes it possible for your senior parent to stay where they are without risking their safety. Some of the ways that home care helps seniors are:
Cooking Meals
Cooking is one of the hardest things for seniors to do when they live alone. The kitchen can be dangerous for seniors who might slip on something that was spilled on the floor, or not be able to easily bend over to wipe up spills. Lifting heavy pots and pans, cutting things, washing vegetables, and other tasks are hard for seniors who have poor grip strength or who have stiffness in their joints. With home care your senior parent can do as much or as little of the cooking as they can. A caregiver will cook meals, prep snacks, and clean up so that your senior parent doesn’t have to.
Shopping
Another task that can be overwhelming for seniors living alone is shopping. Food shopping usually means walking around a huge store pushing a heavy cart. And bending over and reaching up to get products from shelves and put them in the cart. Seniors also may find it difficult to keep track of their money, coupons, and grocery lists. Home care makes it easier for seniors by taking over the shopping if needed. Or, a care provider can go to the grocery store with your senior parent to help them and make sure they take breaks then they need them.
Transportation
If you live far away and your senior parent doesn’t drive it can be very difficult for them to get to appointments like medical appointments. Even if you do live nearby you may not be able to take off work whenever your senior parent needs to go to the doctor, the hair salon, shopping, or to run other errands. A home care provider can take your senior parent to their appointments, take them shopping, or take them to run errands.
Laundry
Have you noticed that your senior parent is wearing the same clothes all the time? That could be because doing the laundry is difficult for them. Many seniors live in homes where the laundry is in the basement. It can be a real safety hazard for seniors to carry heavy laundry baskets up and down the basement stairs. With home care seniors will have clean clothes without the risks involved in carrying heavy laundry baskets.
The biggest benefit of home care is peace of mind for you, and your senior parent. Knowing that someone is there with your senior parent to help them with daily activities will make it possible for you to take care of your other responsibilities without guilt or worry.
Reference:
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/aging-place/aging-place-growing-older-home
If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in Woodbury, MN and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.
