Are your aging parents struggling with their personal care at home needs?
These are common concerns shared by millions of Americans, as 70% of seniors over the age of 65 require some level of personal care .
20% of seniors also need professional personal care services for more than five years.
Your next step is to find a care option that works for you and your family. This is an understandably emotional process; you want to ensure needs are met and concerns are heard.
Finding the best senior care solution starts with research. Let’s take a closer look at professional personal care at home to help you discover the right path.
What Is Personal Care?
Daily personal hygiene and grooming feel like second nature; however, it’s difficult to maintain an adequate level of personal care as you age.
Arthritis, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and other health conditions make routine tasks more challenging. This is a common problem for many seniors.
What qualifies as personal care?
Oral care, bathing, and getting dressed in the morning immediately come to mind, but personal care also includes hair care, going to the bathroom, nail trimming, shaving, makeup application, skincare, and morning routines.
Everyone is different, and some seniors have more (or less) personal care needs than others.
For example, seniors who are frequently bedbound may require advanced incontinence care, ostomy bag maintenance, and help with medications.
Assess your personal care needs first. Does your aging parent need medication reminders, daily grooming services, or help applying their favorite face cream? Understanding their needs will help narrow down your care options.
What Are Personal Care Services?
Personal Care services administer high-quality personal care to seniors.
Basic services cover the following needs:
- Getting dressed for mornings, bedtimes, and outings
- Bathing and shower assistance
- Toilet Assistance
- Hair and makeup care
- Personal grooming and shaving
- Oral hygiene
There are different ways to enjoy personal care services at home. You can receive basic personal care assistance, which helps with basic personal grooming, or you could upgrade to receive meals, pill reminders, health monitoring, and additional services.
While basic personal care works in the short-term, many seniors require additional long-term non-medical assistance as they age, like meal preparation, feeding, monitoring, light cleaning and errands, prescription management, and laundry assistance.
What Is a Personal Care Assistant?
A personal care assistant is a healthcare professional who’s trained in administering high-quality personal care.
At a minimum, these professionals assist with bathing, going to the bathroom, dressing, personal grooming, hair care, oral care, and other related tasks.
Depending on the level of care needed, personal care assistants may use additional equipment to help with bathing, showering, and toilet-related tasks.
Assistants adhere to schedules to maintain utmost personal care and consistency.
If your parents receive in-home care for the elderly, you can expect personal assistants to arrive at a set time every day. You can also work with assistants to adjust schedules as needed.
Personal care assistants are also called home health aides. Along with personal care assistance, home health aides are professionally trained in the following tasks and procedures:
- Walking and mobility assistance
- Nutritional knowledge
- Accompanying seniors to events
- Monitoring seniors’ well-being
- Communicating safety protocols with family
- Important reminders
- Picking up medications
- Disinfecting and virus control
- Light house cleaning
- Emergency procedures like CPR
If your parents require care beyond personal and non-medical needs, certified nursing assistants are here to help.
Like home health aides, CNAs cover basic personal care needs, but they also monitor health conditions, take vital signs, measure blood pressure, set up advanced medical equipment, manage incontinence care, and research treatment options.
If you’re interested in hiring a personal care assistant or CNA to assist your parent, book a free consultation right away to get an inside look at how these professionals work.
Personal care at home ensures your parents needs’ are met, but what about your needs?
Fortunately, with the help of professional personal care, families don’t have to navigate these waters alone.
Benefits of Personal Care at Home for Families
Choosing the best personal care for aging parents is a challenge for many families.
You want the best for your parents, but maintaining balance in your own life is essential for being present in your job and family’s lives.
Caring for seniors takes a considerable level of care, time, and expertise. It’s a tall task for families unfamiliar with senior care, and it’s difficult to step into the role of caretaker without previous experience.
Families must adjust quickly while still maintain normalcy at home. Someone still needs to pack school lunches, take the kids to school and soccer practice, run errands, clean the house a more.
Families need help, and that’s where professional personal care steps in.
Personal care at home caters to your parents’ needs at whatever stage they’re in.
For example, active seniors who don’t require personal grooming assistance may enjoy in-home companion care workers instead of a personal care assistance.
Your parents can still enjoy everyday activities, like shopping, going out to eat, social outings, visiting museums, and more.
Companion care workers take out the garbage, cook healthy meals, run errands, and keep the kitchen clean and germ-free.
They can also take your parents to the doctor and schedule future appointments.
Seniors who require more involved personal care would benefits from personal care assistants, while seniors with more advanced medical needs may prefer a CNA instead.
The rise of aging in place is another point to consider as parents age. Studies show that baby boomer seniors prefer to age in place, in contrast to the previous generation.
Fortunately, you can find the right level of personal care for your parents without quitting your job or moving.
Discover the Right Option for Your Family
Families stick together. Choose a personal care service that delivers high-quality care and smiles.
Learn more about personal care at home to discover the right choice for your family.
Are you ready to enjoy the benefits of in-home care? Learn more about our values and request a free consultation to get started!