Keeping You Safe From COVID-19
Interested in a career at Golden Heart Senior Care. APPLY HERE!

Tag: Home Care in Queens Creek AZ

How Can Home Care Help Seniors to Age in Place?

Posted on by Craig Bass

When seniors are planning to age in place for as long as they possibly can, it is essential that they have the support that they need to make that goal attainable. Home care providers are able to keep seniors as safe as possible while also offering companionship and help with daily tasks. Here’s what family caregivers need to know about this type of help.

Activities of Daily Living

Activities of daily living, or ADLs, are tasks that seniors need to do every day as a part of life. These are tasks like preparing meals, bathing, getting dressed, and taking care of household matters. Home care providers are able to assist with these tasks to whatever degree is necessary. Having that help allows aging adults to conserve some of their energy and avoid struggling through daily tasks. This can be instrumental in helping seniors remain in their homes.

Safety and Supervision

Some seniors might need more help recognizing and addressing safety concerns, and elder care providers are able to do just that. Caregivers help to prevent falls and reduce other safety complications for aging adults and family caregivers. Home care providers can also help seniors to be more active and to remember to use assistive devices, like walkers, when necessary. If there are bigger safety concerns, caregivers make sure that family members are aware of what’s happening.

Companionship

It’s not uncommon at all for aging adults to gradually find that they’re spending the vast majority of their time alone. As time goes on, seniors may feel as if they’re becoming isolated. This can lead to some big mental health difficulties, including depression. Home care providers offer companionship, which can be an essential part of reducing the impact of loneliness.

Transportation

Seniors may not be able to drive any longer, which can complicate life a bit. That’s especially true when they still have appointments and other activities that they need and want to get to. Caregivers can help with transportation, ensuring that seniors safely get where they have to be. This also helps seniors to remain engaged in the world around them.

Education

Family caregivers have a lot going on and often aren’t as aware as they might want to be about how to meet the needs of the person they are helping. Home care providers offer education about what seniors need, especially in terms of things like safety and home modifications that make life both safer and easier. Understanding more of these details helps family caregivers to make better care decisions for their aging adults.

Home care helps seniors to age in place with the support that they need in order to live safely and independently in their own homes. Caregivers offer support with daily tasks, companionship, transportation, and more. All of this helps to improve quality of life for aging adults and for the family caregivers helping them on a regular basis. It also helps seniors to avoid moving away from their homes if that is what they are trying to avoid for the foreseeable future.

If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in Queens Creek, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

How to Talk to a Reluctant Senior About the Need for Help

Posted on by Craig Bass

As badly as you just want to help your senior, it’s entirely possible that she’s not interested in anything you can do for her. It could be that she’s just feeling extra stubborn, or there may be more going on than you realize.

Keep Your Approach in Mind

You might think that you’re offering help in a friendly, happy way, but your senior may see the whole situation differently. Keep your tone of voice in mind and don’t try to fake your emotions. It’s also important to remember that you might be frustrated, but if you sound frustrated when you’re talking to your senior, that’s probably not going to be convincing for her. If anything, it’s likely to be a huge frustration for her in return.

Listen to What She’s Telling You

As your senior explains that she doesn’t want or need help, really listen to her. Don’t worry about what your argument will be in return, just listen. Even if she doesn’t tell you exactly why she doesn’t want your help, she may be dropping other hints that can help you to figure out some of the deeper issues. If you’re not making it a point to listen closely, you can miss some of these.

Watch What’s Actually Happening

You’ve definitely got opinions about what’s happening, but you may need to do some more observing. What are you really seeing? Is your senior struggling and creating more problems for herself, or is she having a tough time, but she’s still making progress? There’s a difference between struggling because something is impossible to do and struggling because it’s more difficult than it used to be. It’s important for you to be able to make that distinction.

Don’t Try to Make Her Accept Help

Forcing help on your elderly family member isn’t the way to go, though. If she’s truly not willing to accept help, there’s not a lot that you can do unless her safety is at risk. Let your elderly family member know that you’re there for her and that you’re willing to talk about a compromise that helps both of you to feel comfortable.

Sometimes people find it easier to accept help from someone that they don’t know as well as a family member. If you’re starting to think that might be the case for your senior, it might be worth bringing in home care providers. They can offer the help you’ve been trying to offer, possibly with different results for your senior.

If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring home care in Queens Creek, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!