Hi there, and welcome back to the At Home Companions blog. In our first blog post, we began discussing some of the many wonderful benefits that home health care services can offer you and your loved ones. If you’re like most people, you value your independence and would like to live in the comfort of your Hackensack home for as long as possible. Yet as we age, there are some activities and tasks that simply become too difficult for some seniors to undertake. Some people assume that once we reach a certain age, we must consider moving into a senior care facility or assisted living, which is a great option for many. However, in-home care is a wonderful option that should really be considered when you or your loved one are weighing their options for senior living. In-home health care services is a broad term that includes a variety of services, such as non-medical care, and care for veterans and their surviving spouses. In today’s blog post, we would like to continue looking at the advantages of in-home health care services so that you or your loved one can continue living at home. Please read below to learn more.

Supports Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)

You may be wondering what we mean by activities of daily living. ADLs are are the everyday activities such as bathing, dressing, grocery shopping, daily exercises, and so on. As we age, our bodies go through many, many changes which can affect our mobility, range of motion, joint, bones, nerve, and muscle function. These changes can make it difficult for some seniors to reach high spaces, bend over, crouch down, and so on. While these musculoskeletal issues can really impact movement, strength, and speed, these issues don’t necessarily impact the mind. Many seniors who are perfectly capable of living independently and who are of sound mind often move into assisted living because they need physical assistance to perform daily tasks and activities. Caregivers who come to the home are able to assist with these tasks, while also allowing seniors to live at home.  

Meal Preparation and Nutrition Support

Good nutrition and maintaining a healthy diet are very important throughout our lives and as we age. A caregiver can help seniors plan and prepare meals that provide the delicious nutrients the body needs for maintaining and improving a healthy body and a sharp mind. Many seniors have specific dietary needs as a result of medical conditions that may be altered by different foods. A caregiver can assist a home-care patient with nutrition planning so that meals are tailored to support a patient’s individual health needs and taste preferences. Meal preparation can sometimes become challenging as we age, but with a little help from one of our caregivers, cooking can remain a fun and enjoyable pastime.

 

 

Medication Management

As we age, medications become commonplace in people’s daily routines. Whether this means keeping up with specific daily vitamins and minerals to improve health and body function, or staying on top of taking prescription drugs in a timely manner, keeping up with medications can be quite a task. An at-home care specialist can help a patient manage their medications by setting them out for the patient, devising a schedule to help keep the patient on track, or helping a patient reorder and pick up prescriptions from their local Hackensack pharmacist. Maintaining medications is an important aspect of senior living, which is why a knowledgeable caregiver can be a wonderful help in managing medications.

Caring Companionship

Sometimes, having someone to talk to can make a huge difference in your day. One of the best advantages of home health care services is that a caregiver becomes so much more than a visiting nurse; he or she can become a close friend who provides companionship. Caregivers are special people who engage in conversation with their patients on a regular basis. While these caring individuals provide a safe environment for seniors as a means to help them manage their health and wellness, the patient’s emotional and mental wellness is important to nurses, too. Our highly-trained nurses have incredible communication skills, and provide a safe space for patients to talk to them about everyday things, or to get things off of their chests which may help improve their mood and emotional or mental state. As human beings, we love human companionship and, on top of their medical assistance, our caring nurses can also provide our senior patients just that: companionship.

Contact At Home Companions

There are so many advantages that seniors may gain from home health care services, and these are just a few of them. If you think you or a loved one may gain from these and other benefits of home health care, contact At Home Companions today to learn more about our services. Thank you for taking the time to read our blog. Be sure to join us again next time to learn more about our home health care services and so much more.