Senior Care Services

Health expenditures have been steadily increasing this past year. Coupled with economic problems and increasing unemployment rates, sustaining health for the elderly population becomes a difficult task financially. So how are the families and the elders themselves to deal with this situation? You might want to consider in home senior care.

We now see health care services become increasingly expensive over the decades. The government in fact employs strategies to help ease the financial burden especially for the elderly, but until these strategies take their full effect, we might well consider other affordable options that can still promote health and well-being among the elderly.

Assisted living and senior home care

Trends in health care for the elderly also change in accordance to the determinants that affect it greatly. In the past, health care sectors gear towards assisted living. To better care for the elder members of the family, most opt for referring them to institutions. These health care institutions provide the elderly people residence and the appropriate care that they need. However, economics, financial stability, and societal perception are strong determinants of health. The early 2000s marked the significant change in the country’s economy; this greatly affected the people’s ability to avail of health care services.

Assisted living may prove to be more costly as compared to home health care. In assisted living, elderly residents pay for professional fees as well as fees for everyday needs such as food, water shelter and the like. Remember that in assisted living, elderly clients are placed in institutions, and their stays are included as added fees in their overall expenses. On the other hand in senior home care, clients only pay for the services of the professionals involved in their care; other miscellaneous fees like food, space, water and etc. are avoided.

An effective alternative to assisted living facility Home health care serves as another option for elder care, but it does not mean that care quality will be compromised. Certain studies have shown that home health care significantly reduces hospital stay among the elderly, and significantly decreases the risk for depression and suicide. Because of the results of these studies, more and more health care institutions advocate for home health care.

We have to remember that home care as a mode for senior care fits a particular category of conditions among the elderly. Home care caters to those who need assistance in activities of daily living, and those whose conditions do not require long term or immediate medical conditions. Elders taken care of by home care professionals have mild to moderate disease conditions, and only need assistance or companionship to help them continue on daily activities.

Home health care is also promoted by the government and other health sectors as an alternative as it is cost effective and furthermore it allows the elderly to still live with the family or the community. This eliminates the concept of isolation that we have towards the elderly and further promotes family relationship and community participation in caring for the elderly.

Senior Care Accompanying ageing are the different physical and mental changes that can leave the elderly dependent on their families and caregivers. Almost 80% of the older population has at least one chronic illness and for this they need additional assistance. Not only that, our elders also experience changes cognitively and emotionally, and this may require special attention. Family members must understand that these factors play a very important role in elder care or senior care. Family members serve as the elder’s support system, and facilitating them towards acquiring this type of care is of the essence. So as family members, how can we assist our elders towards achieving the best care they need? In home senior care might just be the answer.

What is in home senior care or senior home care?

Home health care is a type of health care provided by health professionals (nurses, physicians, professional caregivers, etc.) in the patient’s own home; this is different from custodial care or non-medical care because the ones caring for the elders are licensed professionals.

What is the advantage of home health care?

The number one advantage of home health care is the elderly would not be displaced from his/her own home or will not be separated from the family. This is a very strong advantage as studies suggest that an unfamiliar environment is a potential source of stress and depression among the elderly. Homes are where significant memories linger; this is the place where milestones in an elder’s life are witnessed and experienced. Being physically away from this comfort zone can cause the elderly to be emotionally stressed, and this could lead to depression. Furthermore, being at the comforts of their own homes provides the aged a kind of security. Taking this away from them will leave them with a feeling of loss and vulnerability.

Home health care is also an effective alternative for assisted living facility, and there is an increasing trend in the society as an effective way of taking care of the elders without having them institutionalized. Studies have also shown that home health care programs significantly contribute to the improvement of the elder’s condition when it comes to mobility and activities of daily living.

Home health care vs. Assisted Living

Though both facets of health care are beneficial for the elderly, let us try to compare and weigh which of the two will give the aged more benefits and which would render them the best care. Elderly patients with chronic illnesses that do not need immediate medical attention may fit well under the category of home care. Having the elderly avail of home health care is more cost effective than having them institutionalized. Home health care is also less stressful for the elderly as compared to assisted living in which they need to be moved to an institution where they will stay for a long period of time. There would be less physical and emotional stress in home health care because they are within the comforts of their own home, and they would not be worrying about adjustments or being alone.