Exploring range of in-home care services for elderly and seniors in Montgomery County PA, Delaware County, PA

Exploring the Range of Home Care Services

Senior citizens today have more home care services to choose from than ever before. And more than ever, seniors are opting to continue living at home for as long as possible, even when they need medical assistance.

Home care services have increased in popularity as a senior care option to assisted living facilities and nursing homes, even as quality of facility-provided care continues to improve.

The reasons for home care services’ growth include:

America’s 65+ population is growing faster than ever (expected to double to more than 70 million by 2030, accounting for one of every five Americans)
Much of the senior population growth is being fueled by the baby boom generation, which is entering retirement. Today’s seniors, who are more active and living longer than previous generations, prefer to continue living independently at home for as long as possible
Medical advancements make it possible for in-home care of chronic health conditions, which have become more prevalent due to the aging population
Home care has become more accepted by physicians
There is a movement toward more cost-effective health care options, such as in-home care

Studies show that even after they begin needing assistance with the activities of daily living or ongoing health care, seniors prefer to age in the comfort of their own home. In fact, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that more than two-thirds of older Americans who already need daily assistance are now living at home. This includes more than 70 percent of persons with Alzheimer’s disease.

In-home senior care agencies offer a wide variety of services that clients can select as needed. The services can be tailored to provide whatever amount of help a senior needs to perform the activities of daily living. Services include:

· Companionship and care services, such as meal planning and preparation, light housekeeping, conversation and companionship, medication reminders, transportation, grocery shopping, laundry, and recreational activities

· Personal care services, such as bathing, help with mobility, incontinence care, toileting, feeding, and special diet preparation

· Technology services, such as monitoring, emergency response and medication management systems to provide security and care for seniors when professional or family caregivers are not present

Many seniors needing in-home care have chronic medical conditions that require regular management, so medical home care agencies can work in conjunction with non-medical in-home senior care providers to meet a senior’s complete needs.

In-home elder care providers, such as Comfort Keepers, also serve today’s more active seniors, helping them maintain connections with friends, as well as community organizations and hobbies that continue to give them satisfaction. To read more about in-home services, click HERE.

In-Home Senior Care in Delaware County, PA, Montgomery County, PA Dependence vs. Independence

In-Home Senior Care: Dependence vs. Independence

Senior citizens are living longer and a growing number are choosing to age at home. In-home senior care services allow them to do so safely and confidently, seamlessly adjusting the services they receive to match their needs and health at any given time.

In this way, in-home elder care services help senior citizens age gracefully and maintain good health and independence at home for as long as possible.

In-home senior care services work in partnership with a senior’s family and can help avoid much of the awkwardness aging parents and adult children experience as they begin to reverse roles. Seniors and their families find that in-home care services help smooth the transition, enabling seniors to better accept the consequences of aging.

Seniors especially appreciate that in-home senior care allows them to retain a good degree of personal autonomy in the comfort of familiar surroundings, while their children feel more at ease with in-home care knowing their loved one is under the watchful care of professionals.

Seniors and their children can further smooth the transition by planning ahead and sharing their wishes for the future before a health event or other change forces the issue. At times of crisis, aging parents and their children are understandably stressed, making it difficult to effectively discuss possible lifestyle changes.

Adult children also can help the situation by allowing their parents to make as many decisions as appropriate about their care and to exercise as much independence as possible.

In-home senior care agencies offer a wide variety of services that clients can select as needed. The services can be tailored to provide whatever amount of help a senior needs to perform the activities of daily living. Services include:

· Companionship and care services, such as meal planning and preparation, light housekeeping, conversation and companionship, medication reminders, transportation, grocery shopping, laundry, and recreational activities

· Personal care services, such as bathing, help with mobility, incontinence care, toileting, feeding, and special diet preparation

· Technology services, such as monitoring and medication management systems to provide security and care for seniors when professional or family caregivers are not present

Many seniors needing in-home care have chronic medical conditions that require regular management, so medical home care agencies can work in conjunction with non-medical in-home senior care providers to meet a senior’s complete needs.

In-home elder care providers help seniors maintain connections with friends, as well as community organizations and hobbies that continue to give them satisfaction.

Elder care services also offer families respite services, taking care of a senior to give family caregivers a break from caregiving or to give them time to attend to other family or work responsibilities.
To read more about in-home care click HERE.

Home Health aides, jobs, employment, what it is like to be a Comfort Keeper

At Comfort Keepers®, we are creating exceptional opportunities for individuals looking to do something special with their careers. We offer a tremendous work opportunity in the rapidly growing field of in-home care…providing companionship, meal preparation, or help around the house. Many local Comfort Keepers offices also provide personal care services such as bathing, hygiene, and incontinence care.
Being a Comfort Keeper is deeply rewarding. It allows you to work in an intimate one-to-one setting with seniors and others who are in great need of support and companionship. Whether full-time, on a permanent basis or just for a few hours a week, caregiving positions meet the needs of clients and the work requirements of the Comfort Keeper. Comfort Keepers is one of the fastest growing networks in the senior in-home care industry. Contact your local office today and inquire about being a Comfort Keeper. It will be one of the most rewarding careers you will ever have.

Appearance can affect a senior’s or elderly loved one emotions Delaware county Pa, Montgomery County Pa

For seniors, maintaining good personal appearance often goes hand in hand with maintaining a sense of purpose in life. When we have places to go, things to do and people to see, we naturally take greater interest in how we look.

A decline in grooming often indicates that a senior needs assistance due to a loss of physical dexterity or onset of conditions like Alzheimer’s that inhibit the ability to perform the activities of daily living. But it also can go much deeper, signaling depression and a loss of direction or interest in life.

Such a change in attitude can follow significant life changes that commonly accompany aging—retirement, illness, loss of physical and mental capabilities, children and grandchildren moving away, having to move, and death of a spouse.

These kinds of changes can leave a senior feeling ungrounded, without the sense of purpose he or she derived, for instance, from going to work every day.

Family and professional caregivers can help ease these transitions by being sensitive to seniors’ feelings, offering a listening ear and opening alternatives to help seniors stay connected and active — physically, socially, and mentally.

The National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (www.nia.nih.gov) and the Geriatric Mental Health Foundation (www.gmhfonline.org) provide a wide variety of tips for helping seniors avoid depression and maintain a purposeful life. These include:
Help maintain friendships and contact with family to ease loneliness that comes with the loss of a spouse. Help the senior get out of the house to visit people, or arrange for friends and family to visit. Helping the senior stay connected through letters or e-mail is another option.
Help the senior develop hobbies and new skills or support and encourage the senior to continue involvement in lifelong interests.
Encourage regular exercise, which helps elevate mood and prevent depression. Go on walks with the senior or help with other activities he or she enjoys like dancing, gardening or swimming.
Help seniors stay socially connected. This can include taking seniors to church, senior center and community activities or helping find volunteer opportunities. (The Geriatric Mental Health Foundation states that studies show that seniors who remain engaged with family and community take longer to show signs of Alzheimer’s disease than those who are socially isolated.)
Help the senior maintain a healthy diet.
Comfort Keepers®’ unique approach to in-home senior care, Interactive CaregivingTM, uses these same principles, to help seniors stay engaged in life, physically, mentally and emotionally, and to help make a positive difference in how they feel about themselves and even how they look. To read more articles on senior care, click HERE.