One of the hardest things to do is to decide what kind of care your elderly relative needs. You go from having parents who look after you, and needing to be the parent and look after them. Making decisions about their future and their comfort is hard – especially when they have never articulated what they would want. At some point, you might consider that they need the help of professionals. The problem here is that most people wrestle with the idea of admitting a relative to a home, where they can have round-the-clock care with the right people. The good news is that you don’t have to do this. You don’t have to admit them to a home and send them out of the house that they have been living in for many years.
The best decision is the right one with your family, but it would be a better idea to keep aging relatives in their own home. Yes, they may need some extra help, but you can still get them that. Enchanted Hearts Home Care is one of the best examples as to why you should keep your aging relative to be cared for in their home. Being able to provide them with somebody who is compassionate and caring and knows what they are doing in their role is one of the best gifts you can give somebody in your family who needs some extra help. Keeping them at home can help your loved one to feel more secure and we’ve got some of the benefits of why you should consider home care over a care home.
- Time for family. When you keep your relatives in their own home, they can have anybody visit them whenever they want. There are no visiting hours, there are no restrictions, and you are able to keep a closer eye on how they are feeling and how they are doing day to day. It can be a lonely thing to do, to live in a care home, but with home care instead, they won’t feel so lonely all the time.
- It’s cheaper. Not to be rude to talk about money here, but paying for a care home stay long term is much more expensive than paying for in-home care as often as your relative needs. They may not need round-the-clock care; they simply need to remember to take that medicine, and occasionally have somebody to talk to. A home carer could be the best decision that you make for your relative.
- You can hire somebody that you can trust. Often, care homes have a revolving door for staff. The aged care industry has a high turnover, so your aging relative may only see the carer that they like once per week. It can be very difficult to build a rapport with carers when they are always changing, but if you hire somebody for home care in the home, you can often request the same people over and over. This will help your loved ones to feel like they could trust the people coming to see them each day.