Home Care Service can make aging in place much safer for most seniors, especially when used in tandem with home modifications and assistive technology. Home Care Service in Houston can provide the personal care assistance, companionship, and monitoring that one would receive in a long-term care community while allowing them to remain in the comfort of their own homes. PamCare Home care offers the best of both worlds for seniors who need assistance but are not ready to move to a residential care community, which may be part of the reason why millions of Americans use Home Care Services each year.

We’ve created this guide to help you better understand home care services and navigate the caregiver hiring process. Below, you’ll find detailed information on the types of home care, how much home care costs and how to pay for it, signs it’s time for in-home care, and how to find the best provider for your loved one.

What Is Home Care?

Home Care Service, also known as home care, is nonmedical care provided in the client’s home. It includes custodial care for elderly people and assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating, bathing, and providing medication reminders. Home Care Service also provides companionship, socialization, and cognitive stimulation for seniors. Family caregivers oftentimes use home care services as a respite when they need to travel, work, or attend to other personal errands.

The assistance of Home Care aides allows many elderly adults to remain at home when they are not ready to relocate to a residential care community. It’s also a good option for those who just need some assistance and are otherwise independent, as the amount of care can be personalized for each individual’s needs, from one afternoon per week to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

What Are the Different Home Care Options?

There are different types of Home Care Service to accommodate elderly adults with different needs. The levels of care span from basic companionship and light housekeeping to skilled medical care administered by specially-trained Home Health Care Service. Below, PamCare break down Home Care into three main categories.

Companion Care Services

Companion care providers do just what the name says: provide company for older adults, especially those who are isolated at home because of frailty, cognitive impairments (such as mild- to moderate-stage Alzheimer’s disease), or because they live alone.

Sometimes called “elder companions,” these aides keep a watchful eye, drive clients to appointments, safeguard someone unsteady on his or her feet, read aloud, play cards, prepare light meals and snacks, and otherwise function as an extra set of hands, eyes, and feet for your loved one.

Companion care is ideal for someone who would otherwise have to spend part of the day alone and who requires some light assistance. Companion care also provides a valuable social benefit, decreasing isolation and improving mood. Warm relationships are often formed when a consistent companion is on the job.

Personal Care Assistance

In addition to providing companion care, Home Care Service offer assistance with all kinds of activities of daily living, from grocery shopping to non-medical personal care like toileting, dressing, grooming, and bathing. They can also provide temporary respite care for families.

Many families enlist personal care assistants to solve problems in their Home Care situation, such as a small woman hiring a strong aide who can lift a spouse for bathing, or a son concerned about privacy hiring a woman to bathe his mother. Personal care assistants can also fill a need for seniors who are starting to have difficulties maintaining their home or completing all ADLs independently, but who do not yet need the full-time assistance available at an assisted living community.

In addition to assistance with ADLs, personal care assistants can arrange for meal preparation, escorts to doctor visits, and any other type of nonmedical assistance your loved one may need in order to live at home longer. If you need to get away for a few hours a week or overnight, in-home care can ease the worry, especially if the Home Care caregiver is familiar to your loved one because he or she provides regular services.

Home Health Care

Home health care is a type of Home Care that involves higher-level medical care and therapy. Unlike personal care assistants, who are not able to perform any medical care, Home Care Service must undergo specialized training and/or have a nursing degree or certification to perform skilled nursing tasks such as administering injections, maintaining oxygen tubes and catheters, and conducting physical or occupational therapy.

Note that PamCare Home Care Service is the only type of Home care that involves skilled nursing or therapy services. Standard home care does not include any type of medical services. Those in need of skilled nursing care, medication administration, or physical or occupational therapy should look into home health care rather than regular home care. For more details contact on this number +1 (281) 302-6293.