Why In-Home Care Is Beneficial For Seniors With Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurological disorder that can be both emotionally and physically challenging for seniors and their families. To ensure that Alzheimer's patients receive the best possible care, in-home care services are often recommended.

Approximately 6 million senior citizens in the United States have Alzheimer's. If you have a loved one with this disease, your main goal should be providing them with top-notch care. 

In-home Alzheimer's care in Gilbert, AZ, provides an array of benefits for seniors living with Alzheimer’s, including personalized attention, comfort, safety, support, and companionship.

In-home care is beneficial for people living with this memory disease and here are some reasons why.

Beneficial For Family Caregivers

In-home Alzheimer's care in Gilbert, AZ, is beneficial for family members who are caring for Alzheimer's patients. It can help reduce the stress, weariness, and fatigue that often come with providing round-the-clock care to a loved one with Alzheimer’s.

Family caregivers can take advantage of respite care services, which provide temporary relief from the demands of Alzheimer’s care.

Alzheimer's Patients Can Get Assistance With Daily Tasks

In-home caregivers can provide comprehensive care for seniors with Alzheimer's. These professionals understand the symptoms and progression of Alzheimer's disease, which enables them to tailor their care to the individual needs of the senior.

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Professional caregivers can assist Alzheimer's patients with activities of daily living, such as:

• Bathing

• Dressing

• Eating

• Taking medication

In-home Alzheimer's care in Gilbert, AZ, can provide compassionate assistance while promoting safety and well-being. With the help of professional caregivers, individuals living with Alzheimer's can remain in their homes longer and enjoy a better quality of life.

Professional Caregivers Can Deal With Challenging Behaviors

Caregivers who provide in-home Alzheimer's care in Gilbert, AZ, are highly experienced in managing challenging behaviors associated with the disease. They have extensive knowledge and experience in understanding the confusing behavior that often accompanies it.

The types of behaviors associated with Alzheimer's can include:

• Agitation

• Aggression

• Wandering

• Sundowning Syndrome

Caregivers can create strategies to help manage these behaviors and make living with the disease more bearable for seniors and their families.

Allow Elderly Love Ones To Retain Their Independence

For elderly individuals living with Alzheimer's, in-home care services can provide a safe and comfortable environment for them to remain independent for longer periods of time. Homecare services are tailored to meet the individual needs of seniors with Alzheimer's and take into consideration the progressive changes associated with the disease.

The longer a senior citizen can live in their home, the happier they will be. If you want to provide an elderly loved one with the opportunity to age in place, working with professionals that provide in-home care to Alzheimer's patients is crucial.

We Provide Alzheimer's Care in Gilbert, AZ

Caring for a senior citizen with Alzheimer's is extremely challenging. If you need help caring for a loved one with this memory disease, reach out to the team at Like Family Home Care.

How To Explain The Benefits of In-Home Care To a Senior Citizen

Explaining the benefits of in-home care in Gilbert, AZ, to a senior citizen can be challenging. It is important to be mindful of their concerns and provide honest answers that address their worries. In-home care provides seniors with much-needed assistance to maintain independence while still receiving quality care in the comfort and familiarity of their own homes.

Currently, over 15 million senior citizens receive in-home care in the United States. Before you approach your elderly loved one about receiving in-home care, work on getting your ducks in a row. Having a list of benefits in hand can be extremely helpful.

Here are some benefits that in-home care can provide to a senior citizen.

Explain the Help an In-Home Service Provides

In-home care can help seniors with their daily activities like bathing, getting dressed and making meals. Caregivers come to the senior's home and help them with these activities, so they can maintain their independence.

Bathing and dressing can be especially difficult for seniors to manage. In-home care services are tailored to meet each senior's individual needs, and caregivers help them with these daily tasks in a comfortable way.

A Safer Environment

An in-home care provider can also ensure that the senior is safe and secure. Caregivers are trained in safety and emergency protocols, so they know how to respond in any situation. This can provide peace of mind for seniors and their families, knowing someone is watching them while they're at home.

The Social and Emotional Benefits of In-Home Care

In addition to helping with daily tasks, in-home caregivers can provide companionship and emotional support. A caregiver can help with mental stimulation by playing games or engaging in conversation, providing comfort in difficult times and just being someone for them to talk to.

An in-home caregiver also allows seniors to stay connected with their loved ones who may live in other parts of the country. Caregivers can help them keep in touch through video calls and emails, helping them feel less lonely and isolated.

Medication Management and Transportation to Appointments

In-home care providers in Gilbert, AZ, can help seniors with medication management and transportation to doctor’s appointments. This is particularly important for seniors with chronic conditions or frail health.

Senior citizens often need to take medications at set times to maintain good health. In-home caregivers can help ensure that medication is taken in the correct dosage on time. They can also remind seniors of upcoming doctor’s visits and help them get to and from appointments safely and promptly.

In-Home Care Provides Peace of Mind

Finally, remind the senior in your life that in-home care can provide peace of mind regarding health and wellness. Caregivers are trained in basic healthcare and can monitor the senior’s condition, provide feedback to their doctor and alert the family in case of an emergency.

In-home care is a great way for seniors to maintain their independence in the comfort and familiarity of their own homes. With in-home care in Gilbert, AZ, seniors can gain access to personalized care and support.

Your Guide To Senior Living Options

As people age, it's important to consider the different types of senior living options available. Whether you are a senior citizen looking for an independent lifestyle or a family member researching care for your elderly loved one, various housing choices offer various levels of support and assistance.

An estimated 50 million senior citizens call the United States home. An entire industry has sprung up around providing senior citizens with safe and accessible places to live. Are you trying to find the right senior living options for yourself or a loved one? If so, consider the useful information below.

Assisted Living Facilities Are a Good Option

Assisted living facilities are one of the most popular senior living options. They provide residents with care and support services, while still allowing them to maintain some degree of independence. Assisted living facilities offer a wide variety of services, including help with activities such as bathing, dressing, and eating.

Medical services like therapy and medication management are also offered in these senior living establishments. These facilities also provide social activities and recreational opportunities that help keep residents engaged in the community.

Nursing Homes Can Be a Good Fit For Some Senior Citizens

Nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities provide more comprehensive care for seniors who need specialized medical attention or help with daily living activities. These senior living options are designed to meet the healthcare needs of residents and offer 24-hour monitoring by registered nurses, certified nursing assistants, and other medical professionals.

Nursing homes typically have separate units for those who require long-term care, such as individuals with Alzheimer's or dementia. Skilled nursing facilities are good for those needing rehabilitation services after a hospital stay, such as physical or occupational therapy. Both options provide medical and residential support to seniors in a secure environment.

The Specialized Care Offered By Memory Care Facilities

Memory care communities are specialized senior living options that focus on providing comprehensive and compassionate care for individuals with cognitive impairments such as dementia or Alzheimer's. These communities are designed to help residents live safely and comfortably while allowing them to maintain some independence.

Memory care communities offer the same range of services as other senior living options, such as assistance with daily living and social activities. In addition to these services, they also provide specialized care plans tailored to each resident's individual needs.

This may include additional staffing and programming designed to address issues related to dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

Independent Living Facilities Are Growing in Popularity

Independent living facilities are a good option for seniors who want to maintain an independent lifestyle. These communities provide supportive services like transportation, maintenance, and housekeeping but give residents the freedom to come and go as they please.

Most independent living facilities offer social activities that help keep residents engaged in the local community. These may include fitness classes, educational courses, and religious or cultural events.

It's Time To Find The Right Senior Living Option

When it comes to senior living, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Depending on an individual's needs and preferences, different types of housing options can provide the best fit for their lifestyle. Like Family Home Care is here to help you find the best senior living options.

Three Techniques for Senior Care and Support

Since we’re in the business of supporting seniors living at home, let's talk about some of the strategies that our people have found effective in helping to plan for the future, and manage the challenges of the present.

Some of these methods can help professionals and family members alike to support a senior through a difficult time.

Overcoming and Eliminating Obstacles

Overcoming obstacles means solving challenges that seniors have at home, but it also means looking out for physical obstacles that can compromise a person’s safety.

We talked about that in the blog last month, starting with looking for things that seniors could stumble over on the floor, or things like fallen branches outside.

In general, obstacles and other safety hazards are big problems for seniors, and a key part of evaluating their home life is to look for the warning signs as they occur.

Increasing Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a good tenet for anybody in today's society, but it's also helpful for many seniors.

As they become vulnerable to senility and dementia, seniors can keep their minds active to try to promote those healthy brain patterns that will keep them more mentally limber. But mindfulness is more than that, too – it's thinking about your situation and how to improve it, and understanding the reality that you're in, which is in some ways a philosophical struggle and something that caregivers have to do, as well. In other words, something that everyone has to do. 

Combating Isolation

We talked about this a couple of months ago, where visiting seniors is critically important for helping them to maintain a positive outlook. 

We also talked about the helpful synergy between professional staff and visiting nurses, and family members, who all do the same sort of work, in a way, to keep seniors supported and surrounded by care.

Whether that's an activity log book, helping with day-to-day routines, or anything else, these types of efforts build and combine to offer a better safety net for a senior at home.

Again, you can see more about this on the website, and talk to us about a good place for a family member to be.

Having these conversations early is really good for your family, for a number of reasons. Early planning prevents some of the challenges mentioned above, or makes them easier to overcome. But then you can also choose the parties that you're going to be working with, and when you choose Like Family Home Care, you get an active partner in taking care of your loved ones.

In other words, we take this responsibility seriously and work toward best practices and the best principles of support for elderly residents.

That’s something that's going to benefit your family in the long run!

Look Around!

What should you be looking for as you visit a senior in their home?

There are certain red flags that you should observe and note when you're doing wellness visits for someone who is aging at home. Many of them have to do with the maintenance of the property. It's hard for anyone to maintain a property, even a set of working adults in their prime. It's yet another thing for an isolated elderly person to be trying to keep a property in safe and serviceable condition!

Visitors can keep an eye out for some of the warning signs that indicate professionals need to be called to help handle maintenance of the home.

Water Issues

You might spy water damage on a wall, or a loose faucet with water continually running into a sink. Or a broken toilet.

Any of these can become quite a major problem without correct and proper intervention.

The stray water can cause things like mold and mildew, and basically make a property unlivable over time, so you want to catch them early and correct them.

Bare Wires

Any time you have compromised electrical systems or appliances, there's a danger to this elderly person who is often living alone. He or she can come into contact with electricity and get injured. Look for bare wires and be sure these types of problems are quickly dealt with. 

Loose Floor and Stair Areas

In so many cases, a loose floor stair issue starts small and gets worse over time.

If it's a traditional carpentry installation, there may be a nail or screw loose that leads to an uneven or canted surface.

For linoleum, this often happens when the edge of a piece of flooring crimps up and curls up over time.

These are the things to keep in mind for seniors, whether they are walking with assistive devices or getting around in a wheelchair.

Obstacles

Anything can become an obstacle inside or outside of the home.

Large downed branches are one of the best examples for exterior obstacles. Interior obstacles often involve items that have fallen and could not be picked up. Again, you are also looking for deterioration of interior materials in a home.

It only takes a few minutes to do a quick walk around, but that few minutes could save a life. Visitors should make this a common practice to just briefly look around the property and make any notes necessary. All of this helps everyone to keep someone who is aging at home in safe environments and safe care. Talk to us about the logistics of caring for a senior at home, with effective visit care that is based on best practices and the highest standards promoted by states and other agencies. We’re here for your family!

The Visit: Why It’s Important

Why is it important to visit seniors who are being cared for at home?

It's important because just like seniors in a residential facility, they are often isolated from the greater world and need additional facetime. Here are some of the positive aspects of visiting seniors regardless of where they are living.

Welfare Checks

One of the most basic values of a visit is that the person who is visiting can look for any signs of unsafe conditions or even various types of elder abuse.

They may notice when they're at home that something is awry. Some of these involve environmental conditions – you might see that a large branch has fallen across the yard, or that some home system isn't working the way it is supposed to. There are many types of things that seniors may not be able to see themselves or fix themselves until they become dangerous.

Listening

People have an inner desire to be listened to. They want people to know how their life is going, and what they're doing day to day. The visit also accommodates this kind of need.

Encouragement

At the same time, the visitor can encourage people to reach out of their comfort zones or challenge themselves to develop a better quality of life. It's easy, when isolated, to get used to a minimum standard of activity. But that only creates a vicious circle where you become less able to do more things. Seniors who want to remain self-reliant and capable will want to push themselves not too hard, but just hard enough. That encouragement can make all the difference.

Assistive Visits

As professionals we know that visits from friends and family are assistive to the work that we do on a daily basis. Simply put, our staff love it when they get help from people who know a senior and are willing to stop in and check on him or her in the home.

Another set of eyes is always valuable and important!

And we know from experience that the family context and social context for a senior makes all the difference in their care. Having more of a support network translates to better outcomes across the board. This includes better outcomes and longevity, but also better outcomes in eating and sleeping and everything else.

So part of our philosophy and approach is to be joyful about seniors having outside connections to people who can do part of the work to support them because they care.

We fill in the gaps with qualified trained staff who are on a mission to support people aging in place. Ask us about how we care for seniors at Like Family Home Care and how our mission translates into a good environment for our people. 

Easy Tips to Motivate Seniors to Participate in Activities

Seniors will always need to participate in some form of relaxing activity that they will enjoy. Hobbies are essential for stress relief, improving self-esteem and confidence, providing a sense of accomplishment, and allowing seniors to explore their hidden talents.

However, as some seniors get older, they will eventually lose interest in things they once loved. They could also feel depressed and refuse to leave their room during the daytime. How can you restore happiness in your aging loved one? Read along to discover easy tips that you can use to motivate seniors to participate in fun daily activities.

Understand Their Likes and Dislikes

Keep in mind that seniors will not all enjoy the same activities. Make a note of the type of activities that your loved one enjoys. You should also take into consideration if the senior is still capable of participating in a particular activity. For example, some of the most stimulating activities for seniors include crafting, exercising, music and dancing, and playing cards. The more you learn about the preferences of your loved one, the easier it will be for them to get more involved in daily activities.

Encourage Daily Walks

It is known that seniors gain enormous benefits from taking walks every day. Daily walking may help to improve heart health, manage weight, strengthen bones, improve mental health, and increase social engagement. Some seniors can be so stuck in their daily routines that they could neglect this important activity. You can overcome this issue by gently reminding your loved one to go on daily walks for at least thirty minutes. This is a great physical activity that enables your aging one to have fun outside and achieve general health.

Encourage Cooking and Baking

Cooking and baking are relaxing activities that make seniors feel independent and useful. There is nothing more enticing than cooking a delicious meal in the kitchen that evokes wonderful memories and family traditions. You can also encourage your aging loved one to provide you with a few cooking lessons. Learning cooking lessons is a fun hobby that brings you closer to your loved one and helps you to share an activity that you both enjoy. 

Play With Them

Another effective technique that you can use to motivate your loved one is by playing games. There are so many games that you can play with your loved one. For example, you can play mind-stimulating games such as checkers, Trivia quizzes, word puzzles, video games, and so much more.

Key Takeaway

You can show ongoing support to your loved ones by helping them to get the most out of life during their declining years. You must think of effective techniques that you can use to get seniors more involved in normal activities. This makes it much easier for them to spend less time feeling bored and to be more active. Seniors can explore so many activities that will keep them occupied for hours and help them to embrace their new lifestyle.

How To Help an Elderly Loved One Combat Social Isolation and Loneliness

Many senior citizens make the decision to age in place. While growing old in a home they’re familiar with is beneficial for a senior citizen, it can also pose some unique challenges. Staying positive and keeping their minds sharp can be challenging for an elderly person living alone. If a senior citizen is living by themselves, they might start to feel a bit isolated.

A recent study found that nearly 40 percent of senior citizens feel lonely on a regular basis. Scientists have linked feelings of isolation and loneliness to serious conditions like depression and dementia. Are you trying to help an elderly loved one combat loneliness and feelings of isolation? If so, here are some things you need to try.

Think About Hiring an In-Home Care Service

Aging in place can get increasingly challenging for a senior citizen. There might come a time when an elderly person finds it challenging to cook or clean. If you want to help your elderly loved one with these tasks and provide them with more opportunities to socialize, then hiring an in-home care service is a good idea. By hiring an in-home care service, you can send a competent and friendly professional into your elderly loved one’s residence to lend a helping hand.

Hiring an in-home care service can also provide benefits like:

·       A greater sense of independence for a senior citizen

·       Personalized care

·       Relief for family caregivers

·       A higher degree of safety

If you feel like your elderly loved one needs some extra help around the house, then it is time to reach out to the team at Like Family Home Care.

Teach Your Elderly Loved One To Use Technology

Over the past decade, humans around the world have been exposed to new methods of communicating. In the past, face-to-face meetings were the only way a person could catch up with friends and family members. With the rise of video chat tools like Google Duo, Skype and Zoom, people are able to get some face time with their loved ones without leaving the privacy of their homes.

Teaching your elderly loved one how to use these modern tools is a great idea. Being able to video chat with friends and family members can help a senior citizen combat feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Make Time For Your Aging Friend or Family Member

If you truly want to help an aging loved one combat loneliness, you have to make time for them. Most American adults have an extremely busy schedule. Instead of letting the hustle and bustle of everyday life get in the way of spending time with your loved ones, you need to carve out some time for them.

Visiting your loved one and taking them to a nice dinner or to run a few errands is a great idea. These visits will also provide you with an opportunity to make memories with your aging friend or family member.

With some hard work and the help of an in-home care service, you can help your elderly loved one combat loneliness.