How to Know When You Need Home Care

Being away from our elderly loved ones can make it difficult to determine when it might be time to provide extra care for them. Embarrassment, forgetfulness, and personal or housekeeping neglect may cause them to hide information from family members. If you are starting to think that Mom might need someone to stop by regularly, call Visiting Angels of Matawan at (732) 671-2899, and we will find the right Angel for you. Each of our clients receives a personalized care plan and chooses the professional, experienced caregiver that fits their personality and care needs. 

If your loved one asks for help, suffers an accident, or contracts a severe illness, the choice to get personal care assistance is clear. However, you may need to do a bit of sleuthing to find out if care is needed and what is the best option for your loved one if they are less forthcoming about their needs.

The National Institute of Aging offers some guidelines to help you determine your next steps once you begin asking questions about your loved one’s health and safety. Try to keep in touch with senior family members on a regular basis to track mood and tasks like taking medication and keeping doctor appointments. If they allow, talk to neighbors and their health professional team to find out if they have been acting out of character or forgetting to take care of formerly easy tasks. Make short visits to the home to check in and look for trouble spots that may not be mentioned in conversation. Some things may be easy to take care of, like ordering prescriptions, making appointments, or getting batteries for hearing aids. Larger issues like malnutrition, hoarding, or poor personal hygiene may point to an urgent need for help.

Red flags that may show potential issues:

• Falls and mobility problems
• Failure to take medication as directed or refusal to seek necessary medical treatment
• Leaving a burning stove unattended
• Unsuitable clothing for the weather
• Confusion
• Inability to attend to housekeeping
• Dehydration
• Trouble tracking finances
• Vision problems or driving difficulties

The AARP suggests that you don’t put off the talk about home care, as a theoretical discussion may be easier to have than a list of things you’ve noticed in decline. When you talk to your elderly loved one ask about how they are feeling and assure them that your goal is to make sure that they are heard when considering taking any steps to get help. Find out what their ideal outcome is and let them know that you will make every effort to honor their wishes. 

Help them frame the idea of help to maintain independence rather than becoming dependent. Someone stopping by a few times a week to make sure Mom showers safely and has a chance to run errands and get groceries means a reduced risk of falls in the shower and the chance to eat fresh food. In the end, a little support goes a long way.

It's also a chance to reclaim your relationship with your loved one. A change may be needed when the primary caregiver becomes too stressed out. The relationship becomes transactional and there is little time for love and shared memories. When a caregiver is available to take care of Mom’s needs, you can do the little things that you know will brighten her day without taking time out of doing the “work” you were doing before.

Non-medical home care, like that provided by Visiting Angels, is often a preferred first step for seniors that want to stay in their homes. The caregiver comes to the home for a set time on a regular schedule, developing a trusting relationship that will improve the life of your loved one. More than that, it can improve health outcomes by ensuring that medication is taken on time, offering stand-by assistance for those using walking tools (avoiding falls and injury), providing fresh meals, and helping understand interactions with medical and other professionals and agencies. 

Home care also can extend to more severe illness or disability and 24-hour care. Visiting Angels of Matawan offers flexible scheduling for its clients and places a priority on hiring and retaining the best caregivers in the Matawan area. A consultation with a home care professional is free and can help assess whether your loved one would benefit from home care.