When it comes to senior home care services, there can often be a lot of hesitation and reluctance. People don’t always feel comfortable admitting when they need help with everyday tasks, and family members may not know how to bring it up. This can lead to years of no assistance, which can become a huge burden for family who are ill-equipped to handle such duties and may not have the time to devote to home care. It’s essential to recognize when it’s time to hire senior home care services.
Finding the Red Flags
Family members may recognize skipped doctor’s visits or that medications are not taken. You may notice a lack of hygiene, neglected chores, or uncared for pets or plants. All these can be indicators that it might be beneficial to get some assistance. More severe signs could include distracted driving, difficulty recalling names, dates, and addresses, or existing health and safety risks becoming more severe.
Although it may be awkward or embarrassing to discuss home health care, it can actually help to promote independence, provide transportation and mobility help, and make sure healthcare needs are met promptly and with the right attention and urgency. The initial conversation can be the first step to getting your loved one the help they need.
Full or part-time services are available. For ease, staffing agencies can be used to find dependable and verified home health care professionals. They handle payroll taxes and carry out background checks, as well as the administrative work. Alternatively, you could hire a nurse or other caregiver directly. This would require you to do background checks, verify references and credentials, and take care of payroll taxes and Social Security withholding. This might save you money, but it’s up to you to decide what’s best and to make sure your loved one’s needs are met.
There is often a lot of resistance and hesitation when it comes to hiring senior home care services. Many people don’t like admitting that they need help with daily activities, and family members don’t always know how to broach the subject. Unfortunately, this means that a senior relative can go years without assistance, since it can be several years from first witnessing the need to acquiring aid. This can become burdensome for people in the family, who are not always well equipped to handle such needs and may not have the time to devote to home care. It’s important to be able to notice and acknowledge when it’s time to hire senior home care services.
Observing signs and symptoms
Loved ones might notice that there are missed doctor’s appointments or that medications are left untaken. You may have observed failing hygiene, household chores left undone, or house pets or plants that aren’t tended to as well as they should be. All of these can be initial indicators that home care assistance could be beneficial. More severe signs may be distracted driving, difficulty remembering names, dates, or addresses, or that already present safety and health concerns become more acute.
Although discussing home health care might be uncomfortable or embarrassing, such assistance can help encourage a greater sense of independence, aid with transportation and mobility, and can help to ensure that health care needs are met promptly and with appropriate attentiveness and urgency. A single awkward conversation can be the first step to getting your loved one the help they need.
Full or part-time services are often all that are necessary. Staffing agencies can often be the easiest approach, since they locate the caregivers, handle payroll taxes, and perform all administrative work and conduct background checks. This is a relatively easy way to find qualified and verified home health care professionals. Another option is that you would hire a nurse or other caregiver directly. This would place the burden of performing the background check, as well as verifying references and credentials, on you. You would also be responsible for payroll taxes, Social Security withholding, etc., which can often seem a bit overwhelming. However, it’s possible that it could also save you money. It will ultimately be up to you to decide what’s best and to ensure that your loved one’s needs are met.