A lot of times many people become completely overwhelmed with helping their aging loved one. They have heard of home care aides, but they are not sure exactly what a home care aide does, or how they are able to help. The truth is that a senior home care aide can provide a variety of tasks in your loved one’s home that you may not feel comfortable performing or don’t have the time to do anymore.
A senior home care aide’s job is to help keep your loved comfortable in their own home by monitoring their condition, providing support and personal services.
Here is a list of some of the top duties of a home care aide.
Plan of Care
A plan of care is a customized plan that fits the needs of the person receiving care. This will include the daily tasks that need to be performed from the aide. This can include medication reminders, housekeeping, transportation.
Medication Reminders
The importance of remembering to take medications at a specific time can be a daunting task for many seniors. An aide can help to remind your loved one when it is time to take their medication. However, a home health aide cannot administer any type of medication.
Basic Hygiene
A lot of times one of the hardest tasks for anyone looking after their family member is having to help them with basic hygiene needs. Senior care aides are trained to perform tasks like bathing, grooming and toileting.
Housekeeping
Everyone knows the amount of time it takes to keep a household clean. For our senior loved ones this can take even longer. Home health aides can help by performing basic cleaning tasks like vacuuming, doing the dishes and even taking out the trash.
Transportation
Unable to take your loved one to their appointment? No problem, aides are able to provide transportation to and from various doctor’s appointments and activities as needed.
Health Monitoring
Should there start to be a decline in your love one’s health, a home care aide can provide you and their doctor with more information. This way a medical professional can make any necessary adjustments to your loved one’s plan of care. This will help ensure that they are able to stay in their own home for as long as possible.
Companionship
Sometimes family members are too busy or they live out of state and they are unable to see their aging family member. It is often over looked how much companionship can mean to someone, especially when they live alone. Senior care aides are able to come in and spend an hour or two just to give some much-needed quality time to your loved one.
Respite Care
Caring for a loved one is a difficult role. When you are the primary caregiver to an aging family member it comes with unexpected challenges that can take a toll on you physically and emotionally. Senior care aides can provide a short-term, temporary relief for family caregivers who are providing ongoing care. This helps to give a much-needed break for yourself and your loved one.
So, whether you need someone to take your loved one to an appointment, or help with basic cleaning tasks around the house a senior home care aide is the perfect choice. Not only can they help with these tasks, they can give you a sense of comfort knowing that a professional is with your loved one when you can’t be.
