When you hear about senior home care services, it can be confusing to know what is actually being offered. Let’s go over the 13 primary services offered by home care providers.
1. Personal care
The biggest service that home care provides seniors is personal care, which is when a caregiver helps a senior with their activities of daily living (ADLs).
Activities of daily living are the activities that we must do every day to take care of ourselves. These include:
- eating
- going to the bathroom
- bathing and other grooming
- dressing
- getting out of bed or chairs
- moving around
Personal care providers can help seniors with any of these activities.
To find out what activities of daily living you or your loved one needs help with, use our ADLs checklist.
2. Medication management
Medication management is a service that is often overlooked, but medication errors are a serious problem. Researchers have found that between 75-96% of older patients make common errors in managing their medication, such as skipping doses or taking the wrong dose—these errors can lead to severe damage, hospitalization, or fatality.
Home care providers offer medication management to help seniors create a routine around filling, organizing, and administering their prescriptions. They can help them learn how to use pill boxes and set reminders, or how to use an automated pill dispenser.
3. Meal prep
Another home care service is meal prep for seniors. This includes planning the meals, grocery shopping, and cooking.
Home caregivers can ensure that seniors are eating 3 meals a day and getting the proper nutrition. They can tailor the foods to each individual’s preferences and specific diet. They can have foods easily on hand, so seniors never have to skip another meal because of a health issue.
4. Housekeeping
Home care providers will even wash the dishes as part of their housekeeping for seniors.
As we age, it can be harder to keep up with housework. Manual labor can lead to injuries or be difficult because of health issues.
Home care providers can declutter, dust, vacuum, change sheets, do laundry, and clean bathrooms. They can organize things to be within easy reach and ensure seniors are living in a clean and comfortable environment.
5. Fall prevention
Keeping the house picked up also helps with fall prevention by keeping the walkways clear. Home care providers can further help with home safety by going through the home and ensuring there are no fall hazards, such as loose cords, rugs, or floorboards, or inadequate lighting.
6. Appointment liaison
Home care providers can also serve as an appointment liaison. They can help a person by organizing their calendar, scheduling appointments, assisting with any appointment preparation, filling out necessary paperwork, managing prescriptions, and advocating for them.
An appointment liaison can also facilitate communication between the person receiving care, any caregivers, and the health care providers.
7. Transportation
Home caregivers can also provide transportation to appointments or to any other outing. They can help seniors safely get in the car and escort them inside their location.
Having reliable, safe transportation can make it easier for seniors to make their appointments, see their friends and family, and socialize.
8. Errands
Home caregivers can help seniors with all their errands and shopping. They can do it for them, strictly provide the transportation, or accompany them.
9. Companionship care
In addition to helping seniors socialize more by providing them with safe transportation to visits, they can also be a source of social interaction and emotional support.
Home companions can engage with seniors by talking to them, taking them out to eat or to an event, watching movies or reading together, playing games, or assisting seniors with their favorite hobbies.
Nearly 25% of seniors 65 or older are considered socially isolated (lacking social connections), which can increase risk for many health conditions, including:
- high blood pressure
- dementia
- stroke
- heart disease
- depression
- anxiety
Having a social connection with their caregiver can be a vital home care service.
Learn more about how to prevent social isolation.
10. Respite care
A home care service geared towards helping caregivers is respite care. During respite care, a professional caregiver takes over the primary caregiving responsibility, so caregivers can take a break to attend to their other responsibilities or practice self-care.
Respite care is a great service for caregivers to take advantage of to help them avoid caregiver burnout. It can be planned in advance or used in emergency situations. Everyone can have peace of mind knowing that the senior is being well taken care of while their primary caregiver has some time to themselves.
11. Dementia and Alzheimer’s care
There are other kinds of home care services that are more specialized. One of these is dementia or Alzheimer’s care.
Home care providers that offer this type of care have trained their caregivers in how to best approach people with cognitive impairments. They know how to talk to someone with dementia without agitating them or being condescending.
This home care service is particularly helpful since people with dementia typically do better staying in their homes, since their environment is familiar and they can continue their established routines.
12. Palliative care
Another specialized home care service for seniors is in-home palliative care.
Caregivers focus on reducing pain and discomfort, as well as improving their emotional well-being and overall quality of life. They can also help patients decide on advance care planning.
13. Hospice care
At the end of life, home care can offer hospice care services to help seniors navigate this stage of life with as much comfort, dignity, and support as possible. They focus on giving the person the best quality of life possible and ensuring their wishes are respected.
Caregivers provide emotional support to the senior and their family (including bereavement services).
Get Senior Home Care Services with Pacific Angels
Pacific Angels Home Care offers home care services for seniors in Monterey, Santa Cruz, Aptos, and the surrounding areas.
Our experienced caregivers offer all the services discussed in this article. They can help seniors care for themselves with personal care and make home life easier with housekeeping or meal prep.
Our kind caregivers can be there for seniors by providing companionship care, and we can be there for the family caregivers by providing respite care. We are available as needed and tailor our services to each senior’s needs.
Call us today at (831) 708-2876 or reach us online to learn more about our senior home care services.
