Elderly Man Trying To Understand His Alternatives To A Nursing Home
What are my alternatives to nursing homes? This question is on a lot of minds as people age. Horror stories of abuse and neglect are sometimes seen in the media, which understandably causes feelings of nervousness about nursing homes. There is some truth to these rumors, as there is to most rumors. Finding the right nursing home for yourself or your loved one does take some effort. When your circumstances become such that a nursing home is your only choice, you may be pleasantly surprised at the realities you find there.
Even so, most people don’t love the idea of a nursing home for a few reasons:
- Sharing a room
- Lack of privacy
- Lack of familiarity
- Lack of freedom to go places
- Lack of food choices
- Not enough exercise activities
When you want to stay home in later years and you don’t have enough family or friends to get all of your needs met, it can be scary. You don’t want to face that void that you will feel when you have to move out of your house. You want to have access to your own refrigerator, back yard, pets, TV, friends, and choice of meals. Basically, you want to be in control of your own life. Sure, there are adult daycares available, assisted living and continued care retirement communities. But many people really don’t want to move, you want to live in and be cared for in your own home.
Relax! There is a viable alternative to nursing homes. Home health care is an option that allows you to have access to all of the above as well as control of your own life. Your home care aide will assist you with all of your daily needs as well as many other tasks. He or she will assist you with:
- Your ADL’s (Activities of Daily Living) – Your aide will arrive early in the morning (if you don’t yet require 24 hour care) to get you ready for the day. He or she will help you bathe, dress, and groom yourself.
- Your home care aide will help you prepare meals and clean up after them.
- An aide is unable to give you pills, but they can assist you by opening pill bottles if your hands are stiff or numb. They can also help keep track of when you took your medications and when you need to take them again.
- Your aide can assist you in keeping track of doctors’ appointments and other appointments, such as hair styling.
- The right home care aide can assist you with TV programming or using the internet.
- An aide can do light household chores, including sweeping, washing dishes, cleaning the bathroom, and dusting. How much housework your aide can do for you will be determined by both your schedule and the individual needs and abilities of the home care aide.
As you can see from all of the items listed above, staying in your own home and using a home care aide is a viable alternative to living in a long term care residence. Call Boca Home Health Care today to find out more.
