Celebrating the Importance of Home Care Aides for National Home Care Aide Week

Anyone who’s spent any time within the home care industry understands the magnitude of the compassionate work that happens day in and day out. Millions of people all over the world are in need of home care, from the elderly to the disabled to those recovering from illness or surgery. As we enter into the season of gratitude, let’s take a few minutes today on the blog to talk about those of us who are aging, and will soon need home care.

It’s not easy for any individual to accept that it’s time for help, but asking some of these questions this holiday season can help the family better understand the challenges that face our aging loved ones every day, that we may take for granted.

Not everything is brought to the surface over phone calls or facetime moments. This season is the perfect time to get detailed information on your aging elders, so you can assess how soon you may need to begin researching local home care agencies for assistance. Perhaps your loved one is already involved in some level of home care assistance, this is a great time to investigate how well that is going.

Here are some important questions to ask a senior this holiday season, so you can get a good idea of where they stand in terms of taking care of themselves (or assess their quality of home care).

Physical & Mental Health

• Are they eating normally?
• Are they spending quality time with friends and/or family?
• Are they moving around (physically) confidently?
• Have they gained or lost weight?
• Do they seem content and happy?
• Have you noticed any signs of falling or injury?
• How are they sleeping?
• Are they spending time engaging in activities they enjoy? Learning new things?

Cognitive Health

• How is their memory lately?
• Are they remembering familiar faces and names?
• Do they seem more forgetful than normal?
• Are they keeping up with all the necessary paperwork? Mail? Bills?
• Have they misplaced anything routine? Left any objects where they aren’t supposed to be?
• Do they seem like they are excited to see family?

Home Maintenance

• You know your loved one, is the living space up to their typical cleanliness standards?
• Are the yard and landscaping properly maintained?
• Are there any signs of danger? Burn marks in the kitchen?, broken objects?, restricted pathways?
• Are the linens and bedding clean and being changed regularly?
• Are there issues with garbage and/or clutter?
• Is laundry being done, and organized properly to your loved one’s standards?

These types of conversations aren’t always easy for everyone to have. The especially independent seniors may certainly provide a little pushback to these types of questions, but if you ensure you are communicating with the right things in mind and showing care and compassion, you should be able to get all the information you need. Be sure to be empathetic to your loved one’s desires to stay as independent as possible, but help them to understand life can still be independent with assistance.

Knowing when it’s time for home health care isn’t easy. We all want our loved ones to be able to live independent and healthy lives, but there comes a time in everyone’s life when they just need a helping hand. Luckily, there are millions of caring home caregivers that are ready and willing to help with an open heart. We are truly grateful for all the wonderful home caregivers here at Prestige, and all over the world who work every day to help families ensure their loved one is safe, secure, healthy, and happy.

Enjoy your time this season of gratitude and ensure to check on your elders! They are the ones who always cared to give you a better life than yesterday!