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Tag: Senior Home Safety

How Does Senior Home Care Keep Your Senior Safer?

Posted on by Craig Bass

One of the biggest benefits of bringing in senior home care for your family member is knowing that she is going to be safer than she would be if she were alone. But how do home care providers make life safer for your senior? Turns out that there are a lot of different ways to contribute to safety as your senior ages in place.

Assisting with Household Chores

Household chores take a lot more out of your senior as she ages than even she might realize. She may be spending a lot more time and energy doing things that someone else can help manage. This allows her to do the things that she truly needs and wants to do.

Offering Help with ADLs

Another group of tasks that may be getting more difficult for your senior could include ADLs, or activities of daily living. These are tasks that everyone does every day, like getting up from bed, grooming, getting dressed, and more. If your elderly family member is experiencing difficulties with these tasks, home care can help.

Ensuring Your Senior Is Eating and Drinking

Without proper nutrition, your elderly family member is going to experience bigger health issues than she might expect. Dehydration is another huge concern. With help from senior home care, your elderly family member is more likely to remember to drink water and other fluids while also eating healthy meals and snacks.

Offering Companionship

It’s also important for your senior to socialize with other people, even if she says that she doesn’t want to be around people. Crowds may not be the answer, of course, but having caregivers stopping by to assist with other tasks can make a big difference for her. Elder care providers help your senior to beat loneliness and avoid isolating herself or developing depression.

Watching Out for Safety Hazards

Safety hazards abound for seniors, and if your aging family member has someone there with her to watch out for problems, she’s going to be a lot safer in general. Some of the things to watch for are tripping hazards and other issues, like forgetfulness, that could cause your senior to experience dangerous situations. Senior home care can alert you to those conditions so you can resolve them for your senior.

Keeping Family Caregivers Informed

In general, the more informed you are about how your senior is doing on a daily basis, the easier it is for you to put together a care plan that works for her needs. It’s also a lot easier to adjust her routines as needed, because you’re more aware of what is truly helping. If you don’t live near your senior, you may not be able to see her in person as much as you would like. Senior home care ensures that you know what challenges your elderly family member is facing.

The safer your senior is, the easier it is for her to live the life that she wants to live. You’ll also feel more comfortable knowing that your elderly family member is in good hands.

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

There’s More to Home Safety Than a Clutter-Free Layout

Posted on by Craig Bass

You worry about your mom and dad being safe as they age at home. Their older home has multiple levels, including a basement laundry room. Arthritis, muscle weakness, and chronic health conditions make it harder for them to get around on their own.

While you can help out on weekends, you worry about home safety when you’re not there. How do you heighten home safety for them? Removing clutter is often the first thing families think of, but it’s not enough. Here are the other factors to consider.

Research Their Medications

Some medications are known to make you feel queasy. They can make you lightheaded and drowsy. Eating certain foods, taking over-the-counter supplements and remedies, or drinking alcoholic beverages with certain medications increases the risks of adverse side effects.

Go over the medications your mom and dad take. See if there are contraindications listed. If there are, make sure your parents know what they have to avoid. For example, your mom’s blood thinners may be less effective if she eats foods that are high in vitamin K, such as asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, and kale.

Arrange Rooms to Eliminate the Risk of a Fall

Look at the home layout. Your mom and dad have an older cape. Bedrooms are on the top floor, but the bathroom is on the main floor. If your parents need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, they have to walk downstairs in the dark. If they turn on lights to be safer, it may wake them up, making it hard to go back to sleep.

If there is a room downstairs that you can convert to a bedroom, do so. It’s better to eliminate trips up and down the stairs at night.

Check Out Home Care Services

If your parents are prone to falling, support from home care aides is essential at certain times. It comes down to the times when your mom or dad is most likely to fall.

Your mom takes a blood thinner that makes her lightheaded for a couple of hours. She should have a caregiver with her after she takes it. She has the caregiver to watch her and make sure she’s okay on stairs, while walking around the house, or when taking a shower.

Suppose your dad has fallen in the past and can’t stand in the shower since breaking his ankle. A caregiver can be there to help him step out of the shower.

With home care, your parents have the help they need with ambulation, medication reminders, meals, household chores, and more. Call to learn more.

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