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What Is the Purpose of Home Care?
Date Updated: December 9, 2024
Written by:
Lauren Thomas is a seasoned writer that specializes in long-term care, with a special focus on dementia-related topics. She holds a degree in counseling and uses her knowledge and experience to create insightful content that gives seniors and families the information they need to make important care decisions.
Reviewed by:
Dr. Brindusa Vanta is a health care professional, researcher, and an experienced medical writer (2000+ articles published online and several medical ebooks). She received her MD degree from “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine, Romania, and her HD diploma from OCHM – Toronto, Canada.
The purpose of home care is to support a senior’s health and quality of life in their home environment, letting them remain in place as their functional needs and abilities change. This type of care encompasses nonmedical assistance with day-to-day activities to help you avoid assisted living. Some seniors rely on home care as they recover from an injury or illness, while others use it as a long-term solution to navigate age-related challenges.
What Services Do Home Care Agencies Provide?
Home care agencies provide two types of services, including companion care and personal care assistance. Companion care may involve driving you to medical appointments, helping you remain steady on your feet and preparing light meals and snacks. In many cases, attendants serve as another set of hands around the house, assisting with light chores and providing conversation. Similarly, personal care assistance includes help with daily living activities, such as grocery shopping, bathing and remembering to take medications.
Home care doesn’t include skilled nursing services such as medication administration and disease monitoring and management. However, for those who need light medical care at home, home health care is a viable alternative.
How Does Home Care Help Seniors Age in Place?
While many seniors prefer to remain in the comfort and familiarity of their homes for as long as possible, factors such as social isolation and mobility challenges affect their ability to do so safely and comfortably. Home care agencies address those challenges through in-home caregivers who visit the senior’s home to help with daily living activities and provide companionship.
In some cases, caregivers assist family members in caring for a loved one. For example, a woman caring for a husband recovering from surgery may arrange a home care attendant to help him with navigating stairs or lifting him into or out of a bathtub. Similarly, a son caring for his mother may arrange home care services to help preserve her dignity by assisting with bathing or personal grooming. Caregivers also provide respite services when family caregivers are ill or traveling.
Recognizing the Right Time for In-Home Care
When deciding whether the time to arrange in-home care has come, it helps to look for these signs in the individual:
- Weight loss due to challenges related to shopping for and preparing meals
- Neglect of personal care routines, such as bathing, shaving or brushing their hair
- Difficulty keeping up with basic household tasks
- No longer participate in hobbies they once enjoyed
- Difficulty navigating their home due to its layout; for example, they may be unable to go up and down stairs safely
Depending on your needs or those of a loved one, you can customize home care services to fit your schedule and address the everyday challenges that impact safety and comfort.