Health Care Services For the Elderly

Sunday, December 30, 2012
Home health care can be for medical needs, but it can also be just to help you with day-to-day activities. For many people, it is those activities that are the hardest. Your friend may love going shopping, but he or she can no longer drive. That can be very frustrating. It is important to get your friend the right help.

Even though your friend may not need medical home health care at this point, it is a good idea to be familiar with it. It is wonderful for your friend to have someone come in and tidy up his or her room so that he or she can find the things needed. It is also nice to just have someone there in case there ever is a medical problem. Even though the help will not have complete medical training, he or she should know what to do in a medical emergency.

Some people who can no longer shop can still cook. Some groups will cook meals. If your friend needs this help, you might suggest this in addition to helping with shopping and just around the house. Even if your friend still loves to cook, he or she might still like the help during the meal in case a bottle needs to be opened or something heavy needs to be lifted.

Make sure to talk to your friend carefully about calling health care services. It is important that he or she not feel like you are not being kind. You just need to explain that you think he or she could use some help. Tell him or her that you wish you were able, but you are not. Explain that there are people who can help, and that his or her doctor should be able to get a referral.

If you explain it in the right way, hopefully your elderly friend will not mind. He or she should understand that help is something that is needed.

You might have more than home health care company near you. You might be able to help your friend by checking into the various ones. You should ask how they regulate their employees and whether they do background checks before hiring. Find out whether those going into the homes are CNAs or have no nursing training at all. These are important areas to consider as you think about home health care for a friend. You will not regret checking these things out if it helps your friend to have a better quality of life.