A Continuum Of Care In Senior Services

When we think about what it means to operate a truly caring senior support business like ours, we see it as a continuum of what families have had in place prior to looking around for a nursing home or facility. Most of them have put quite a lot of work into caring for their elderly family member!

Our mission is to maintain that continuum of care and not allow it to degrade or fall apart over time.

That works in some particular ways in terms of anticipating a person's needs and their overall situations. We like to advance that approach to make sure that we offer a quality of care that others have a hard time matching. 

Meal Prep

This is one of the aspects of care that we take very seriously. People have their preferences, and even food allergies and other issues that determine what their diet should be.

Specifically for seniors, they often have some dietary restrictions, either in regard to their medications, or previous health conditions or medical history.

So we keep that in mind, and build a profile so that we can treat the individual as an individual, and take care of them the right way.

Personal Care

Everybody needs some type of personal care routine, whether it's self-care or caregivers applying personal care to someone who can't do it all themselves.

There is a spectrum of services and again, there's a continuum from what a person was used to before, to what they get accustomed to when they enter a facility. We want to make that transition smooth for our seniors! Part of that is a good intake process, but it’s also, at the end of the day, a commitment level from our staff. So shout out to our people!

Transportation and Mobility

This is another aspect that we assess very carefully when we take in a new nursing home resident.

Mobility and transportation are key parts of a daily routine and overall care plan. Will the person be able to access the outdoors during temperate seasons? How will the person move from the facility to an away time with family or some other trip?

All of this has to be worked out in detail. It doesn't just happen by magic. Our administrators and our frontline caregiving staff know this, and that's why we've invested in the types of communications that support your senior family members as they stay with us. For more, plan a family meeting and sit down with us to get acquainted with our care model. 

How to Make Seniors Comfortable at Home

The aging process can take its toll on seniors and make them feel lonely, uncomfortable, and miserable. Seniors will experience various types of ups and downs they are unable to control. Some seniors might experience loss of mobility, joint stiffness and pains, loss of muscle strength, and several other health issues. For a senior to cope with age-related issues, you need to think of the best ways to make your loved one more comfortable. 

Read on to learn how you can make your home more senior-friendly.

Install a Ramp

Going up and down the stairs can be a challenging task for senior citizens that are suffering from aching joints or balance problems. Therefore, you should consider installing a ramp, which makes it easier for seniors to navigate the stairs. A wheelchair ramp is a cost-effective solution that can help to improve the life of an aging parent in your home with limited mobility. 

Proper Lighting

Some senior citizens develop poor eyesight, which becomes problematic if you don’t have quality lighting in your home. Poor lighting in your home makes a senior more susceptible to tripping, falling, and bumping into objects they can’t see. Poor lighting also makes it more difficult for a senior to move around during the night. Make sure you install quality lights in every room in your home to keep your space properly illuminated. Quality lighting reduces the likelihood for accidents to occur and helps a senior to maintain balance.

Bathroom Safety

Ensure the safety of your bathroom by installing grab bars, rubber mats to prevent slipping, and setting the thermostat to a comfortable temperature to avoid accidental burns. Installing a raised toilet seat with handlebars is also beneficial for a senior and makes it easier for them to sit or stand.

Create a Comfortable Environment for Your Aging Family Members

Make a list of the best ways you can help your loved one transition through the aging process. The changes that you implement in your home will do so much for an elderly family member. By keeping your home safe, you have the peace of mind that your environment will be less accidental and dangerous.

Do you have the interest to get special in-home care services for an aging parent? At Like Family Home Care, we provide convenient home care solutions that align with the needs of senior citizens. It is our pleasure to connect with you and to help enhance the life of your loved one.

Tips For Engaging Children With Elderly Family Members

Transitioning through the stages of life is a complicated and deeply personal process. As we age, we become less needed, less busy, and less active in family affairs, leading to a feeling of disconnection and isolation. As life seems to pass our elderly family members by, we strive to find ways to engage them in our day-to-day activities and, more importantly, in our children's lives. 

It can be easy for those fortunate enough to care for their elderly loved ones at home to lose sight of the difference between authentic engagement and daily routine obligations. Seniors who can remain at home with professional care are still subject to feelings of isolation and loneliness. 

Participation in the family encourages the feeling of being needed, wanted, and seen. This article will outline tips for engaging young family members with their elderly loved ones to build and strengthen bonds that benefit both parties. 

Create A Memory Book

Children of all ages can participate in creating a memory book with their elderly loved ones. Whether utilizing a traditional photo album, scrapbooking, or video graphics project, this activity connects children with their family member's history as well as the memories made together. 

In this way, the child and senior are given a platform to talk, listen, learn, and share their memories and favorite things. 

Build A Birdhouse Or Birdfeeder

Many seniors spend time in their rooms enjoying the view from their windows. Birdhouses and bird feeders offer the opportunity to invite feathered (and sometimes furry) friends to visit, creating a more interactive and enjoyable experience. Children and their elderly loved ones can build birdhouses and bird feeders together, getting as creative as they want to be, resulting in a perfect collaborative project. 

This type of interactive activity offers both the senior and the child an opportunity to learn from each other and build something they can both enjoy afterward together. 

Hopes And Dreams Vision Board

Many seniors dare to dream as they feel that they have already lived the best years of their lives. Children foster hope, and having them create hope and dreams vision boards with their senior loved ones is an inspirational and rewarding experience for them both. Seniors have vast knowledge, which they love to pass on to those coming up in the ranks. When children work with elderly loved ones on future ideas, plans, and dreams, the project creates lasting bonds and hope for the future. 

Who Wants To Do What?

We get it – family decisions are difficult. Especially for a family of any size, it's not usually all that common for everybody to come to the same conclusion at the same time.

This applies to all sorts of things. It can be hard to get everybody to agree on where everyone wants to have dinner. It can be a lot harder to talk about bigger things, for instance, where someone should spend their days in their reclining years.

Frankly, it's just a big decision, and family members don't have an incentive to start out all on the same page. People have their own closely held emotions about the subject. There are all kinds of considerations, from an investment in a legacy property, to the need for skilled nursing care or assistive staff for an elderly family member - and everything in between. 

Even in our families, we don't agree 100% of the time. But there are ways to streamline the process and resolve some of the conflicts around where mom or dad or some other family member is going to go.

Starting with Compassion

Our intake process is based on this reality – that families will often need help consulting and coming to an agreement or a decision on where a family member will live.

We feel it's critically important, in this specific field, to avoid high-pressure situations, and to try to reach out in a calm and compassionate way to talk about alternatives. When people feel that nobody has a dog in the fight, they're more likely to be able to brainstorm and come up with a consensus.

The Setup

We also have another key responsibility that helps in resolving these types of issues. Simply put, our responsibility is to make a plan that's great for mom or dad, and finding things that people are going to want to do, so that a lot of that back-and-forth gets eliminated from the very start.

That's where we can talk about meal planning and accommodations and all of those good things that we put into the business model, specifically to support our families and their elderly family members. But again, it starts with being able to meet and think together and come up with a solution that works for everyone. Talk to Like Family Home Care about the needs that your family has, and we can come up with a workable plan together, so that at the end of the day, everyone can rest easy about what’s happening. 

4 Tips to Choosing the Best Senior Care Services

Finding the perfect professionals to care for your aging parents can seem a little overwhelming. You might not know where to start or how to learn about the safest environment that’s suitable for your loved ones.

There are many difficult decisions that you will have to make to ensure the safety and protection of your parents. Let’s take a look at 4 tips that you should consider when you’re searching for the ideal senior care services for your folks.

1. Verify Credentials

You need to check the credentials of the agency that you’re considering. A thorough screening and background check of the caregivers is necessary. You must perform this important step to ensure that your parents will be given proper care.

Make sure the professional staff at the agency is capable of providing top-notch services. An agency that is composed of compassionate and competent professionals gives you peace of mind that your parents are in excellent hands.

2. Determine the Care You Need

What type of care will your aging parents need? Are you looking for an agency that provides medical or non-medical services?

Your parents could require skilled medical care around the clock, special equipment to breathe, mobility assistance, help with taking baths, and other necessities. Determine the kind of care you need so that you can find the most efficient staff for your parents. 

3. Ask for Recommendations

Asking for recommendations is an effective way for you to gather information about the best senior care services for your folks. You can get recommendations from your doctor, friends, neighbors, lawyer, and other reliable people you know.

There is a good chance they will know about reputable home care provider companies that you can trust.

4. Check References

How do people feel about the company that you want to hire? Checking the references of a professional home care agency gives you more insight about their background.

Good home care providers should be willing to provide you with references upon your request. This is a way for you to learn about positive or negative feedback from past clients to help you assess the reputation of the service.

You can also contact the company directly to ensure that your parents will receive exceptional care.

Help Seniors to Live Their Best Life

Family home care services come in handy during the golden years of your loved ones. When you’re unable to assist, you have the option to rely on a friendly, compassionate staff to care for your folks.

Do you have questions or concerns about getting the best care for your loved ones? Please contact our dedicated care manager to learn how we can assist you.

Home of the Brave

Many of America's seniors have an independent streak.

We know this, and we also know that various kinds of stigma around long-term care facilities and planned retirement communities have many Americans aging in place – sticking it out in their homes as they get older and health conditions compound. That can be ok, in fact, it can be something to be proud of. It can also be dangerous and lamentable, as people learn about their limitations the hard way. Every case is different – but we think that if more people understood the very real need of seniors for care, regardless of the individual’s “toughness,” lives would be saved, and vastly improved. 

There's a certain extent to which staying at home is seen as admirable and resourceful – but then there are those concerns and questions that pile up as problems develop and decreased mobility, increased fall risk and other things crop up. What about when a senior is unable to drive? How will they get what they need to their home?

Observation and Companionship

Many of the seniors who are living alone in their homes suffer from a kind of social isolation that can be difficult to see from the outside.

They also have some of the more concrete dangers that we talked about above – not having another person in the building to notice if anything happens.

Again, retirement communities are planned to offer both the companionship and the safety that seniors need, but not every elderly person is on board. And that’s okay – as we said, every case is different – but it’s important to make sure someone’s needs are served. 

In-Home Care Solutions

In many cases these people don't need round-the-clock care. They just need check ins. They need people to help with meals, monitoring, medications, and a basic daily social interaction that will help keep them steady and more engaged with the world around them.

At Like Family Home Care, we offer personal care, housekeeping, transportation, meal prep and more. We build our business around offering the models that help seniors to remain in their homes more safely, and with more of a social connection, so that their quality of life and their security is improved as they remain in their own homes. Talk to us about what your family needs – and we will help you to make a plan that sets everyone’s mind at ease! We are proud of our excellent track record of supporting seniors, and knowledgeable about the right ways to succeed. 

Home of the Brave

Many of America's seniors have an independent streak.

We know this, and we also know that various kinds of stigma around long-term care facilities and planned retirement communities have many Americans aging in place – sticking it out in their homes as they get older and health conditions compound. That can be ok, in fact, it can be something to be proud of. It can also be dangerous and lamentable, as people learn about their limitations the hard way. Every case is different – but we think that if more people understood the very real need of seniors for care, regardless of the individual’s “toughness,” lives would be saved, and vastly improved.

There's a certain extent to which staying at home is seen as admirable and resourceful – but then there are those concerns and questions that pile up as problems develop and decreased mobility, increased fall risk and other things crop up. What about when a senior is unable to drive? How will they get what they need to their home?

Observation and Companionship

Many of the seniors who are living alone in their homes suffer from a kind of social isolation that can be difficult to see from the outside.

They also have some of the more concrete dangers that we talked about above – not having another person in the building to notice if anything happens.

Again, retirement communities are planned to offer both the companionship and the safety that seniors need, but not every elderly person is on board. And that’s okay – as we said, every case is different – but it’s important to make sure someone’s needs are served.

In-Home Care Solutions

In many cases these people don't need round-the-clock care. They just need check ins. They need people to help with meals, monitoring, medications, and a basic daily social interaction that will help keep them steady and more engaged with the world around them.

At Like Family Home Care, we offer personal care, housekeeping, transportation, meal prep and more. We build our business around offering the models that help seniors to remain in their homes more safely, and with more of a social connection, so that their quality of life and their security is improved as they remain in their own homes. Talk to us about what your family needs – and we will help you to make a plan that sets everyone’s mind at ease! We are proud of our excellent track record of supporting seniors, and knowledgeable about the right ways to succeed.

Is In-Home Care a Better Option for Seniors? 4 Key Things to Know

Is in-home care a better option for seniors? Seniors deserve the best care, comfort, and security during their golden years. Various statistics and facts have shown that home care in the United States is a preferred option for most people.

Individuals receiving the most home care in the United States are over 65 years old. It is also known that 97 percent of seniors need assistance with bathing, and getting in and out of bed.

If you’re unable to care for your loved one, in-home care is a valuable option for you to consider. Read along to discover 4 reasons why this is beneficial.

1. Transportation Services

Completing daily errands can be a stressful situation for an elderly person. Home care services are beneficial for seniors who need help with transportation. 

Seniors who no longer drive can rely on someone to take them to their doctor’s appointments, to pick up prescriptions, grocery shopping, and a host of other errands. Seniors have the convenience to rely on compassionate professionals to give them safe and comfortable transportation. 

2. Meal Preparation

Daily meal preparation can be a challenging task for aging individuals. A home care service prevents seniors from doing all the work involved in meal preparation. 

Home care services enable seniors to maintain proper diet and nutrition according to their specific needs. Seniors can have an enjoyable experience getting their breakfast, lunch, and dinner on time. 

3. Individualized Care

A senior has the benefit to stay on top of their health with assistance from an in-home care service. Seniors are known for developing various types of age-related health issues. 

Some of these may include bone and heart health, depression, incontinence, and other health concerns. A personalized in-home care service enables a senior to maintain their health and dignity in the privacy of their home. 

4. More Home Visits

Visiting the elderly in a nursing home can be a difficult, exhaustive process. In-home care makes it easier for friends and family members to visit their loved ones. 

The elderly have the experience of getting unlimited visits from people who love them. Home visits from friends and family members also keep seniors happy when they’re feeling lonely.

Get the Home Care Service That Fits Your Needs

Trained and reliable professionals are always available around the clock to provide the best care to your aging parents. They give you the peace of mind that seniors will receive attention and optimal care.

Do you want to find an in-home care service that you can trust? Contact us to learn how we can give you comprehensive assistance.