Six Tips for Easing the Transition Into Home Care
As seniors start to need more help, their feelings about having help might start to become a little more rigid. It’s tough to accept help when someone has been independent for a long time. Finding ways to make the transition to accepting home care services takes a little experimentation, but family caregivers can try some of these ideas.
Keep Communication Open
Talking about what to expect with elder care, what the concerns are, and what preferences seniors have can do a lot to make the situation easier to accept. Keeping the lines of communication open and caring allows seniors to feel like they still have a choice. It’s important that seniors do know that this is something to help them, not to limit them.
Assess Care Needs
Each senior’s situation requires something different from family caregivers, from home care providers, and from other types of assistance. Fully assessing these care needs might involve talking to doctors, talking to the senior who needs help, and looking more closely at safety risks in the home. Getting a thorough picture allows caregivers to tailor assistance as needed.
Create a Comfortable Environment
Aging in place is so important because home is where seniors feel comfortable and safe. The idea of moving can feel traumatic, even if it’s just an idea. Keeping seniors in their homes means ensuring that home is both safe and comfortable, even as their health and their needs change. Home care assistance can help seniors stay on top of this.
Establish Structured Routines
It’s tough for seniors to have the stability they need in their daily lives if they don’t have structured routines to lean on. Home care providers can do a great job of helping seniors establish routines that meet their needs and that are comfortable and flow. Good routines help seniors get the sleep they need, eat meals at regular intervals, and address other needs along the way.
Offer Emotional Support
Seniors may not realize just how much emotional support they need while they age in place. It’s possible that they have fewer social interactions than they did in the past, and that means finding new ways to meet those needs. There are also new emotions involved in aging in place, even when that’s something seniors want to do. Home care providers understand and are able to offer emotional support when seniors need it most.
Continue to Adjust Care Plans
No care plan is perfect, especially over time. Needs change and plans need to change as well in order to keep up. Elder care providers continue to work with seniors and family caregivers to ensure that proper needs assessments are up to date and that resources to meet those needs are available.
Transitioning into home care services can be a big milestone for aging adults. This type of care allows seniors to stay in their own homes, with elder care professionals taking over tasks that are becoming difficult. The goal is always to keep seniors healthy, comfortable, and safe, especially in their own homes.
If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in Tempe, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!