If your loved one has a disability, is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s or simply needs some assistance with daily tasks, home companion care may be the perfect solution.
It’s common for seniors to struggle with everyday tasks like meal preparation, light housekeeping and transportation. That is why reputable caregivers provide a range of services to help your loved one maintain their quality of life.
Personal Care
Home companion care is a non-medical in-home service designed to assist aging adults, senior citizens and those with disabilities. It provides emotional support as well as assistance with daily tasks like housekeeping or meal preparation.
Companion caregivers offer personal care services like bathing, incontinence management, dressing and grooming as well as medication reminders. This helps seniors avoid loneliness’ detrimental effects and helps guard against health problems that might develop due to a lack of access to nutritious food, physical activity and medications.
Family caregivers often enlist the help of a home companion caregiver when they require assistance with their loved one’s everyday tasks. Not only will they offer emotional support, but also assist with household duties and take your loved one on errands.
Meal Prep
Home companion care service providers should prioritize providing meals to seniors who may have medical conditions or cognitive deficits that make cooking for themselves impossible. Many seniors require assistance with meal preparation due to medical conditions or cognitive issues that make it difficult for them to prepare their own food.
Caregivers provide meals for aging clients, helping them meet their nutritional requirements while offering companionship and socialization. They ensure the client has nutritious meals at breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as snacks throughout the day.
Caregivers often prepare meals in advance, which helps save them from making unnecessary trips to the grocery store or eating out. It also creates a sense of purpose around cooking which may be an aversion for older adults.
Housekeeping
Housekeeping can be an integral part of home companion care services for clients. This includes tasks such as dusting open surfaces, vacuuming and mopping small areas and hard surface floors, disinfecting bathrooms and kitchens, wiping counters and changing sheets.
Many older adults enjoy the housekeeping process. They may enjoy conversing with their caregiver as they work, and may even ask them to move around their room while cleaning it. But if there’s no trust or healthy dynamics between the caregiver and your loved one, this could cause conflict and stress. So it’s essential that you choose a caregiver whom you can trust in order to maintain an effective relationship. Ideally, both parties should work together on creating a schedule that accommodates both parties’ requirements.
Transportation
When it comes to aging in place, one of the best ways to stay active and engaged is by getting out into your community. Attending local events, visiting friends and family, or shopping for groceries together are all excellent opportunities to spend quality time with those you care about most and improve quality of life. Unfortunately, many seniors find it challenging to access these activities without assistance. Public transportation systems offer a range of options; however, private ride services offer affordable and reliable transport to various destinations. Although these are more sophisticated than taxi or shuttle services and usually not free, the money spent on them will still be well worth it in the end.
Socialization
Home companions are an invaluable asset to seniors who require socialization. They can organize activities, suggest new friendships and assist seniors in building meaningful connections within their communities.
Seniors who remain socially engaged and active report feeling healthier and happier. Studies have found that these seniors tend to have lower rates of depression, better mental health, as well as being at significantly reduced risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia.
They tend to feel a greater sense of purpose and self-worth as they form new connections and remain connected with friends, which helps them live longer.
Home companions not only focus on completing daily tasks, but they also strive to ensure their aging loved ones’ emotional needs are being met. By engaging in enjoyable activities like puzzles and games with them, companions make sure that seniors spend their days doing things that bring them joy.