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Elder home care is the ideal solution for those seniors who are capable of staying at home as long as they get some outside help each day. It is the best option that allows older adults to remain independent as long as possible.

With home care services, they have the option of choosing the right amount of care they need—a few hours a day or 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Most caregivers won't demand long-term commitments. So seniors will only pay for their services on a month to month basis. This makes living at home independently a reality.

Choosing the Right Caregiver

Caregivers come from various backgrounds. Some have provided care for their own senior parents and like to help other older adults. Other caregivers have been in the professional healthcare industry for quite some time and enjoy one-to-one contact with other individuals. Most deeply cherish the sense of fulfillment that comes from serving other people. However, because your loved one's safety and security will depend mainly on this individual, it is important that you take your time before hiring any candidate.

A good caregiver should be skilled, professional, compassionate, courteous, and enthusiastic. They should be professionals who genuinely love their work. To ensure that your loved one will be in good hands, you should conduct a background check on all the candidates. Likewise, you should choose someone with the experience, personality, and skills that match your loved one's needs, as this will nurture a mutually enjoyable relationship. By choosing the right caregiver for your loved one, you are also giving him/her a friend and a "lifegiver."

Home Care Services

In-home evaluation can help determine the right type of care and services that your senior loved one truly needs.

Caregivers can provide any of the following services: conversation and caring companionship, meal planning and preparation, grocery shopping and transportation, laundry and other light housekeeping services, assistance in walking, bathing, hygiene, dressing, and eating.

This wide range of services can be classified as follows:

Alzheimer's or Dementia Care

If your loved one has Alzheimer's or dementia, then you should contact those who are experts in providing this specific care. To make your senior's life more trouble-free, caregivers often customize a caregiving plan that adjusts quickly to your senior's changing needs. Make sure you hire caregivers who had been trained to handle this kind of client whose activities they should closely monitor and whose medication they should administer on time.

Daily Visits

If your loved one does not need a high level of assistance each day, you can enroll him in a program that provides him with the right amount of attention and service. It can range from a one-hour to four-hour daily visit, from five to seven days each week, during which caregivers provide companionship, medication reminder, meal preparation, and hygiene assistance (if necessary). This kind of part-time service affords family members peace of mind knowing that someone is paying their loved one a visit on a regular basis.

Sitter Services

Naturally, you want to stay with your loved one every single moment of the day, however, this is virtually impossible. If he or she is in a hospital, assisted living facility, nursing home, or continuing care community, you can ask a caregiver to monitor his or her stay so you can take some rest. These caregivers, who can be available 24 hours a day, can give you access to a quick-start in-home care services, allowing your senior loved one to make a seamless transition back home.

Veteran's Services

You might not know it, but a loved one who has served in the US armed forces is qualified to receive home care assistances from the Veterans Administration. With this program, you can reimburse your home care expenses if your veteran loved one satisfies certain criteria and this include the following:

• Veteran must have had a total of 90 days or more of service time and must have served at least one day during a war.

• Surviving spouse must have been married to the deceased veteran.

• A doctor's prescription that says the veteran has need of daily aid.

• You should not have more than $80,000 in savings and checking, excluding your home or vehicles.

• Veteran must have received a general or an honorable discharge.

• You are not on state assistance like Medicaid or other subsidized programs due to low income.

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