The Benefits of Senior Home Care During Pandemics and Flu Outbreaks

If you are thinking that senior home care involves a lot of planning, you are right! That’s one reason why learning about its benefits in relation to easily transmitted illnesses is a good first step. As you learn about the ways senior home care helps to keep your elder loved one safe, you’re also taking some planning steps. The two go hand-in-hand!

Fortunately, information is continually updated about the advantages of senior home care and how best to plan. This means you don’t have to start from scratch.

Topics Include:

• Will I be able to keep my senior family member safe and healthy at home?
• How does senior home care promote an elder person’s health?
• Is senior home care beneficial for my loved one’s social-emotional wellbeing?
• Are there ways to make home care affordable for our family?
• Who else should be part of planning?

Keeping Seniors Safe at Home

When you think of keeping a senior family member safe at home, there are many topics to consider. Some have to do with taking medications safely or preventing falls. Since early 2020, families’ focus has been on taking steps to prevent COVID-19 infections. Families want to keep everyone safe. That includes taking steps to ensure that the people entering a senior’s home are healthy and safe.

The Basics: Assuring Safety by Knowing When It’s Time for Home Care

There are signs to watch for that let you know it’s time to plan for elder home care.

• Health changes may be the first sign. Your loved one needs help with personal care and health routines, like taking medications. These changes occur as a result of:
  • Recent surgery,
  • Failing health, and
  • Medication or treatment needs.
• Trouble with activities of daily living (ADLs) happen as an elder’s strength or thinking ability changes. Signs of needing a care giver to help are:
  • Having trouble moving around,
  • Recent falls,
  • Concerns with personal care such as toileting accidents or increased body odor, and
  • Needing help with preparing meals and easy household tasks.
• Your elder loved one may have changes in their behaviors or senses that appear as:
  • Confusion that leads to wandering and becoming angered or agitated,
  • Getting lost when driving or moving from room to room at home, and
  • Vision and hearing changes that lead to falls and accidents.

The Specifics: Health Protection and Personalized Care

One of your reasons for looking into home care is to protect your loved one from communicable illnesses. You want to do that as much as possible. This requires added preparation to keep everyone as safe as possible:

• You’ll need to get personal protection equipment (PPE) and supplies, such as thermometers, masks, gloves, and cleaning materials.
• It’s important to have procedures written down for everyone to follow.
• There are steps to take to hire caregivers who have had training in personal protection.

Another reason you’re interested in home care is you’re able to assure that your loved one has individual attention and care. This is vital when they have a pre-existing health concern.

No matter what that is, you’ll be able to:

• Have equipment and furnishings selected and set up just for your loved one.
• Plan your elder’s schedule and your own based on health routines and appointments.
• Hire caregivers who are skilled in caring for elders with your loved one’s needs. The uCareNET Homecare Booking Platform for senior care is available to assist you in finding well qualified caregivers.

The Ways Senior Home Care Helps an Older Person’s Health

There are multiple ways that being in your home or their own is good for your parents or other elder loved one. Some are apparent, like the benefit of being among family and friends every day. Other things that promote a sense of wellbeing include:

• Making a daily schedule that is good for your loved one, such as their usual mealtimes.
• Being able to keep the home safe from odors and noises that may cause distress.
• Adjusting lighting and furniture for moving safely.
• Encouraging your elder to take their own medications with caregiver guidance.
• Helping your loved one stay as independent as possible with routines like eating and dressing, even when done with assistance.

One point that stands out when your loved one lives in their own home or yours is limiting their exposure to contagious illnesses. That means they’re less likely to catch:

• Colds,
• The flu or other viruses like COVID-19,
• Stomach upsets due to viruses, and
• Other infections that can be passed from person to person.

Steps to Promote a Senior’s Social-Emotional Wellbeing

The emotional wellbeing of your elder loved one is very important. When they’re happy and engaged they feel better all over. This affects their health and ability to engage in life. Your loved one is able to enjoy:

• Being in familiar surroundings where they can keep their pets and plants, and perhaps do a bit of gardening.
• Using their preferred language for communication with the use of the uCareLINGO app with its voice-translation feature. uCareLINGO will translate the conversation between your Care Providers and your loved one. Dynamically between English and into 15 different foreign languages.
• Their preferred activities that are fun and fulfilling, from puzzles to knitting and cooking.
• Staying engaged in community by attending events and faith-based rituals as able.
• Having you around, especially if you have the option to do remote work.

One of the beauties of living in a home care setting is being able to plan each day according to your loved one’s wishes.

Doing so includes some common-sense steps plus those that require some planning. This Care Options gives ideas and links to more tips on elder health and wellbeing.

This means taking care of yourself too! Balancing Work and Caregiving links to papers that prepare you. Some of this leads to looking into financial planning, now and for the future. This step is very important for your whole family.

Tips for Making Home Care Affordable for Your Family

Chances are your elder loved one talked in the past about care during the last years of their life. They might be worried about the cost. They’ve been concerned for you as well as for their own wellbeing. People worry about outliving their retirement savings plans. They also worry that their monthly Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefit will not pay for their needs. There are resources to help you with financial planning steps.

• Employment Insurance is available for several care need situations.
• The Benefits Finder asks a set of questions to let you know the benefits in your Province.
• The Canada Caregiver Credit is a non-refundable tax credit for people who qualify because of caring for a family member.
• Ontario Home and Community Care lists the types of care and services they offer eligible individuals and families.
• Old Age Security Overview is a pension monthly benefit to learn about for your loved one.

As you explore these sites, keep watch for community groups activities for elders as some provide some respite during the day. These are unique to each town and municipality. Talking with friends and neighbors about their elder care experiences adds to your decision-making.

The People to Involve in Planning for Elder Home Care

With your parents aging, you become more aware of role changes within the family. Your parents once cared for your generation. They then enjoyed their independence, something they are reluctant to give up. Yet you can now see them declining. It is time to make some decisions about their care. You know this needs to be handled with care and patience.

It’s surprising how delicate this part of planning can be. That’s due to:

• Family members who disagree about a senior’s wishes or finances.
• Some family members are reluctant to involve social services because they:
  • Don’t want to ask for help,
  • Doubt that the elder person or family is eligible for any type of help,
  • Feel the family’s privacy is threatened, or
  • Believe their loved one is better off in assisted living or long-term care.

Your goal is to find support and ways to bring family members together. To begin, you can talk with:

• The person in your family who gets along with everyone else,
• A trusted faith leader who knows your senior loved one,
• Your loved one’s closest friends who know their wishes,
• A family counselor who can mediate your family through trying discussions,
• Social service people who provide case management for seniors, and
• A home care agency that will openly respond to your family’s questions and concerns.

Decisions can be made in-person or via phone or video conference meetings.

• Encourage all involved to focus on your parents’ safety and health.
• Family members need to plan their roles based on distance, finances, and relationships.
• Talk with your loved one about what’s most important and meaningful for them.
• Considerations of distance and balancing caregiving roles take time to negotiate.
• If possible, have someone take notes.

Remember that there are various options to choose from for your elder loved one’s care. The one you select may change in the future based on your family member’s need and your personal circumstances.