Senior care or elder care is an important service, but it’s often overlooked and underestimated. From caregiving, in-home senior care, to assisted living, senior care is what elderly family members need. With the advancements in technology and medicine, there are higher standards set for senior care.
Here are some of the reasons why senior care services are important for loved ones:
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Getting Professional Assistance with Basic Needs
Senior care involves getting professional assistance based on scientific concepts and proven strategies. Your elderly family members would appreciate getting helped from a personal care assistant, caregiver, or nurse to meet their basic needs such as:
- Meal preparation and feeding
- Personal grooming such as bathing and changing clothes
- Mobility assistance
- Beside care (applicable for debilitated patients and elderly who are bedridden)
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Benefiting from Professional Skills and Experience
Many seniors need the expertise and experience of a healthcare professional to perform tasks that a family member or relative may not have adequate knowledge and skills. Senior care services are usually performed by qualified or licensed health care professionals to ensure safety and proper administration.
Here are some examples of tasks needing a health care professional senior care services:
- Medication administration
- Enema administration
- Tube feeding or parenteral feeding
- Wound care (including prevention of bed sores)
- Glucose monitoring and diabetes insulin injections
- Blood pressure monitoring
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Assessing and Addressing Psychological and Social Needs
The elderly population needs to be socially active and updated even if they have restricted mobility or just at home. Senior care services are beyond meeting the elderly’s activities of daily living. Many senior care facilities are offering social activities and mental health assessment to the elderly.
Here are some examples of activities that help assess
and address the psychological and social needs of seniors:
- Group therapy: Sharing experiences and stories with other seniors to prosper new friendships and relationships.
- Music therapy: Seniors enjoy singing, dancing, or listening to music to divert negative thoughts and emotions to something positive and meaningful.
- Daily exercises: Brisk walking, jogging, stretching, breathing exercises, and other workout routines to help strengthen the cardiovascular health of seniors.
- Counseling: A therapy can help seniors express their thoughts and emotions to strengthen their coping skills, ventilate their feelings, and develop positive coping skills.
- Accompanying the elderly on social outings.
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Personalized Care
In-home senior care provides personalized services to the elderly based on their lifestyle or preferred way of living. A caregiver can assist with housekeeping, prepare favorite meals, and help the elderly maintain a quality of life.
Here are the benefits of personalized care:
- Seniors can dictate the critical aspects of overall care.
- Build a unique experience to tailor fit lifestyle preferences and address age-related concerns.
- Your senior loved ones receive care on their own pace and schedule and continue doing hobbies and favorite activities.
- The elderly have more control over the care planning process.
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Promoting Appropriate Degree of Independence
Your senior family member may insist on not needing help and support because of preferred independence. However, seniors are not as strong as younger adults and are restricted by mobility issues, visual impairment, Alzheimer’s Disease, or any other medical condition. Senior care services provide some degree of independence to the elderly but ensuring safety.
Here are some examples of how senior care professionals promote independence to the elderly:
- Provide patient education on the proper use of a cane, wheelchair lift, or other mobility devices. By doing so, the seniors will learn how to use the mobility device independently or with minimal intervention.
- Reinforce safe movements and shifting from one floor to another to avoid slip and fall accidents.
- Show how to use a glucometer, sphygmomanometer, smartwatch (monitor heart rate or pulse, breathing, and step count), and how mobility devices work.
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Improving Quality of Life
The weak and ill seniors require assistance and support at all times to ensure safety and improve quality of life. Being free to eat favorite meals, watch favorite TV shows, gardening, read the newspaper, attend social gatherings, and performing hobbies are the things that usually make the seniors happy.
In-home senior care services see to it that all of these activities are allowed to some degree without risking the health and well-being of the elderly. That’s why it’s essential to choose the right senior care provider that offers flexible and quality services to improve the quality of life.
Conclusion
Senior care services or elderly care make a critical part of the overall society, since the older persons have already contributed their part and it’s their turn to get appropriate care. You can give back by ensuring your elderly loved ones get the right care. It’s important to seek a trusted and reputable senior care provider with qualified and experienced health care assistants and professionals.
