New Jersey Senior Care News | Many older people are threatened by the mere suggestion they might need home care of any kind. They can’t get past the feeling that bringing in a home health aide is the first step towards taking away their independence. That’s hardly the case. Here are five things you need to know about home care:
1. It doesn’t mean that you’re sick. Instead, it’s an opportunity to make life easier for yourself. A personal care companion can come in to help prepare meals, clean the apartment, or take you to doctors’ appointments. If you live alone, it’s an opportunity for some companionship, someone to play cards with, or take you for a walk in the park. Home health aides can do as much or as little as you want them to do.
2. It won’t restrict your independence. You will still be “the boss.” No aide is going to come in and tell you what you can or can’t do. In fact, the aide will do whatever she can to maintain your independence. By making sure you eat properly and take your medication, for example, they are more likely to enable you to remain healthy at home.
3. You won’t feel like there’s a stranger in your home. Most home care agencies are happy to have the family meet prospective home health aides before they start. Yes, everyone is a stranger until you get to know them. You will not only have a say on who is hired, but can rest assured that the individual will have been carefully vetted by the home care agency. Over time, history says that you and the home health aide will quickly bond and become close friends.
4. We can afford it. With home care you can have an aide come as little or as often as you want (or feel you can afford). For those who are in relatively good health, a home health aide may need to come for no more than several hours a day. While it’s not cheap, most people can afford it – and, it’s certainly much less expensive than institutional care.
5. It won’t be an omen of things to come. In not so many words, many older people see this as a harbinger of things to come. To their thinking, it’s a home health aide today, and tomorrow it’s “say goodbye house and hello nursing home.” The reality is that many clients end up spending years in home care, often with the same caregiver. That’s why the sooner you bring in a home health aide the better.
- NJ Home Health Care Client Bill of Rights - March 12, 2019
- Senior Home Care Preparation For New Jersey Families - December 17, 2018
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