More and more Seniors are deciding to age in the comfort of home instead of uprooting their lives and moving into a nursing or long-term home facility. People like the idea of waking up in their own beds and living an independent, dignified life for as long as possible.
The right home healthcare service provider will offer highly trained and qualified Personnel Support Workers (PSWs) and nursing staff to come right to you or your loved one’s home, 24-hours a day. These PSWs and Caregivers will offer compassionate support and assistance around the house, including tasks such as:
- Tidying up
- Cleaning the dishes
- Medication management
- Meal preparation
- Toileting
- Transferring
- Companionship
- Wound Care
While all of these tasks are crucial to a joyful life and essential home healthcare components, many people don’t realize that home healthcare provides other, more personalized services to those who need it. For example, did you know that certain home care providers offer customized Dementia and Palliative Care programs for their clients? Check out Integracare.on.ca to find a service provider that offers both of these critical programs to Seniors and more. They believe that healthcare should incorporate all aspects of Senior healthcare for people at home.
For an introspective look at the benefits of home healthcare, let’s explore some of the customized services your loved one can receive.
Personalized Dementia Care
Dementia is an overarching term for a set of symptoms that are triggered by disorders affecting the brain. Early symptoms may include memory loss, difficulties with problem-solving, thinking, or language, severe enough to decrease a person’s ability to perform daily activities. A person with Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease may also experience changes in behavior or mood.
The sad reality is that Dementia is a progressive disease, which means the symptoms will worsen as more brain cells become damaged and eventually die. It’s also not a specific disease. Many diseases cause Dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease, Lewy Body Disease, head trauma, Vascular Dementia (due to strokes), Frontotemporal Dementia, Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Huntington’s Disease. All of these conditions can have similar and overlapping signs and symptoms.
When someone you love has been diagnosed with any form of Dementia, you’re going to need as much help as you can get, fast. Sometimes people living with Dementia prefer to age in the comfort of home. Fortunately, you can work with home healthcare providers that offer top-quality professional Dementia Care services.
Education is Key
Ensure that your at-home Dementia Care PSWs are not merely educated and high-qualified professionals but that they also exhibit empathy and compassion. People with severe Dementia often forget how to speak or walk. They require round-the-clock care from Nurses and PSWs who know what they’re doing professionally but also remain empathetic. The right health team will ensure that your friend or family member is looked after and that their living situation remains comfortable. Find a Toronto home healthcare provider that offers live-in care. A live-in caregiver or PSW can stay with your loved one day or not, so you won’t have to worry about their safety or wellbeing when you’re not able to be there with them.
Palliative Care At-Home
Coming to terms with a life-limiting illness can be incredibly difficult for families and patients. People choose to live out their diseases in the comfort of home instead of moving into another type of assisted living facility. People want to be surrounded by familiarity and the conveniences of home. A life-limiting illness can include:
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Diabetes
- Alzheimer’s disease and other types of Dementia
- And any other disease or condition that could potentially limit a person’s life
Your loved one’s doctors and medical team may have mentioned the term “palliative care” when discussing healthcare options to treat your family member’s illness. Palliative care is an extra layer of care and support to work in conjunction with primary treatments and prescription drugs.
Often, severe diseases such as cancer create drastic side effects, and the procedures, such as chemotherapy, can cause even more damaging consequences. Palliative care is provided by a team of specially-trained doctors, nurses, and PSWs who work with other doctors as an extra layer of support. The ultimate goal is to improve the person’s quality of life with the illness and their friends and family. It’s focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the disease.
At-home palliative care is based on meeting the patient’s needs, not on the patient’s prognosis. It’s an appropriate measure to take at any stage in a severe illness, and it can be provided alongside curative treatment. Suppose someone you love has a life-limiting or serious illness. In that case, at-home palliative care can significantly reduce or relieve the physical and emotional symptoms and side effects in the home’s convenient space.
Look for healthcare service providers that offer empathetic at-home palliative care and put the comfort of their clients above everything else — look for a company that provide services such as massage therapy and physiotherapy to help their clients feel their best in challenging times, about that read more. Find a company that openly communicates with their clients’ families and their primary doctors and nurses. It’s best to have everyone on the same page.
With palliative care, the focus changes from finding a cure to relieving and reducing pain and improving a person’s quality of life. Ensure that your service provider is doing everything in their power to bring as much joy as possible to your loved one. At-home palliative caregivers focus on reducing physical pain, emotional stress, and providing companionship to people who need it most. There’s even a spiritual aspect to palliative care. Suppose your loved one has a desire to delve into spirituality during this time of their life. In that case, the right service provider will ensure that they get the help needed and speak with community spiritual leaders to help guide them in whatever path they’d like to explore.
At-home healthcare can cater to any of your loved one’s individual needs. It’s crucial to find a home healthcare provider that offers essential services like meal preparation and cleaning. However, the right company will also offer specialized services to suit your loved one’s custom needs to bring them the most joy during this challenging time of life.
