In-home care, also known as live-in care, is basically the care given to senior people right in there homes, and not in nursing home. Here are some of the services you should expect from a live-in caregiver:
- Private care
With a live-in care giver, you get personal care. The service provider essentially focuses his or her attention to you and you alone. Everything the care giver does is for your benefit. You get everything tailored to meet your needs and wants. The food prepared is just for you and if you do not like the food, you can easily get another meal prepared for you.
- Compassionate care
Apart from caring for you as an elderly person, the caregiver also focuses on taking care of your emotions and ensuring that you are in a good mood. Professional caregivers are trained to establish whether a person is stressed and they are equipped with ways on how to improve the situation, tend to the needs of the elderly person and make him or her to enjoy the little joys of life.
- Bedside care
This is one of the services offered by in-home care givers. Some aged people might be suffering from certain conditions that prevent them from leaving their beds. This means that they will need someone who will attend to them right there on their beds. Bedside care involves taking the sickly or elderly person to the toilet, bathing them, feeding them and even engaging them in simple but exciting conversations that will keep them excited.
- Nursing care
Live-in home care also involves nursing care whereby if the client or the elderly person is suffering from a disease or condition, the caregiver will attend to this condition as part of his or her program. The care giver has the responsibility of ensuring that the sick elderly person receives all the medical attention he or she deserves. This involves going for medical checkups, taking of the prescription drugs and administering any injections if required.
- Running errands
A live-in care giver also has the responsibility of running simple errands for the elderly person. Errands here means those light duties that may include going for groceries, going for shopping, receiving letters, posting letters on behalf of the client, and any other errand that does not necessarily require supervision or the presence of the elderly person.
- Feeding assistance
Some elderly persons may experience hardships feeding themselves. An inexperienced person might think that it is easy feeding an aged person but this is not true. It is a little bit more complicated than it may seem. A professional caregiver understands what is required of him or her to ensure that the elderly person gets a balanced diet and eats it as expected.
- Mobility assistance
Whether the client is sick or cannot walk on his or her own, it is the responsibility of the caregiver to ensure that the client gets the necessary assistance to walk. Exercise is good even in the old age and the caregiver should take the sickly or aged person for a walk to bask in the sun for a few minutes or for an evening walk.
- Laundry assistance
A live-in care giver should ensure that the client wears clean and well ironed clothes. This means that the care giver should do the laundry and iron all the clothes for the client. It is the right of the client to be in a clean and healthy environment and wear clean clothes at all times.
- Welcoming visitors
It is the duty of the caregiver to welcome all the visitors including other family members, friends, religious leaders, physician, and any other visitor who comes to pay homage to the senior client. The caregiver should also ensure that all the visitors are attended to, given something to eat and leaves when it is appropriate.
- Medication reminders
Most senior people tend to suffer from various conditions. Some are diabetic, some suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, some suffer from mobility issues and so many other chronic ailments associated with old age. This means that they are always on medication. Unfortunately, many of the elderly people are forgetful and they might never remember that they are supposed to take their medications at certain times. It is the duty of the caregiver to remind them of their medications and to ensure that they take these medications as prescribed.
- Nutritious meal preparation
There are certain foods that are recommended for the elderly and there are those that should not be given to an aged person. A professional care giver understands this and it is his or her responsibility to ensure that the client’s meal plan is nutritious and is well prepared. The meal should not be too spicy or too salty as this can damage the digestive system of the aged person.
- Maintaining a safe and welcoming environment
The home or the environment where the elderly person lives must be safe and welcoming at all times. The senior people enjoy clean, friendly environments and it is the responsibility of the caregiver to ensure that the area or home is clean, safe and free of any nuisances.
- Light housekeeping
In-house care involves light housekeeping practices involving sweeping of the house, dusting of the home, wiping and removal of cobwebs if any, and taking out trash. This is aimed at ensuring that the home is clean and welcoming to the homeowner and the visitors who may come to check up on the elderly person.
- Personal care assistance
The caregiver is required to provide personal care assistance to the client. Personal care here means grooming, bathing, toileting and even feeding the elderly or sickly client. The client has the right to live a normal life through the assistance of the caregiver.
- Transportation and escort to appointments and other planned venues
It is the responsibility of the caregiver to ensure that a client goes to all appointments, including medical checkups and any other planned venue. It is good to have valid driving license to enable you as the caregiver to drive the client to and from all his or her appointments if need be.
In-home care is affordable and the caregiver receives personal pay. Most live-in care givers are paid on an hourly rate. It is however your responsibility to ensure that you get a qualified caregiver who will take good care of you or your relative.
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