Eliminate the Guilt with Home Health Aide Services

With advances in medicine seniors are able to live significantly longer than previous generations but often they find they are unable to care for themselves. In many cases seniors come to rely on family members to provide assistance. This can lead to feelings of guilt when an adult child does not have the time or capability to provide the care they would like to give their aging parents. Those in this situation should consider the help of home health aide services which allow the elderly parent to continue living independently at home but remove some of the overwhelming burden on the adult children. 

One common question is how to know when an elderly parent needs assistance. A first clue can be when they are unable to drive. Being unable to drive often severely reduces independence. In addition pay attention to the condition of the home and personal hygiene. If these things seem to be slipping it is time to consider a home aide service. Changes in mobility and memory are also an indication that additional care is needed.

If you have identified that your loved one is in need of assistance the next step is to determine what kind of assistance is best. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Can the care my loved one requires be fulfilled by a home care aide?
• Will my loved one be comfortable with someone coming into their home to help with the day to day care?
• Is this beyond my ability to handle on my own?
• Even if I can handle this one my own how will it impact my health and my relationship with my parent?
• As time goes on, will it become more difficult for me physically or emotionally to manage providing care?

In many cases an adult child wants to provide care for an aging parent but it is too physically and emotionally difficult. In addition the adult child has a home and family to take care of in addition to work obligations limiting the amount of time they have available. A home health aide has training and experience to deal with elderly patients. In addition the aide is often able to get an elderly patient to comply where a child can't.  For example, an aide may be able to encourage the senior to moderately exercise or eat a well balanced meal whereas it becomes a point of contention between parent and child.

In many cases a home health aide provides value to the entire family. It is worthwhile to explore the options available. Contact our caregivers at Garden State Eldercare to learn more.