Initially, seniors may be resistant to in-home care. Your parent may not recognize how much you help out, believing extra help is unnecessary. There may be fear of lost independence or freedom. Our caregivers create more opportunities to enjoy life, but accepting help isn’t always easy. Many of us have been taught to be independent from a very young age or we learned how to be through necessity. Independence is viewed as a strength, an asset that we earn and cherish. As we age, discussing the need for help can be viewed as a giving up of sorts. When loved ones are resistant, family caretakers face a tough decision:
- They can continue as if their loved one is able to care for themselves risking injury, malnourishment and bad hygiene.
- They can address the issue head on and get care regardless of their initial resistance (after receiving help and developing a relationship, resistance fades). In these cases, we can assist in addressing caregiving using years of experience to achieve the best possible outcome.
- Most people don’t realize that they can get a caregiver that subtly weaves into their loved one’s daily life as if they were a normal part of it.
The last option isn’t ideal, but it’s certainly better than putting care off as if nothing bad can happen.
After we sit down with seniors and talk about some of the advantages of in-home care, they often start to see care differently.
Improving Quality of Life through In-Home Care
We help seniors live the way they want, without restrictions. That means taking care of the house and scheduling activities. We follow their lead on how they would like to keep their home. They also gain control over their schedule. An in-home caregiver provides the freedom to leave the house. The ability to move about reopens opportunities to get out in the community again and have fun. Attending shows, exhibits, and visiting friends becomes much easier to achieve.
Some of our clients are more excited to have someone to assist with groceries and laundry. Others benefit more from the companionship. Everyone is different, and our caregivers listen with an aim to improve your parent’s life. After we communicate our services during the initial visit, many seniors are excited about the opportunities our caregiver can open for them.
More Independence
Receiving help isn’t always as difficult as people imagine. Professional care gives seniors more independence and they quickly realize it regardless of initial resistance. We can help your loved one stay at home so they can be in a familiar environment and see familiar faces. Let us know if you would like our help in giving you and your loved one more independence today.
Extended Family Home Care provides a wealth of services that simply can’t be matched by independent caregivers. Here are a few of the reasons why a home care agency such as Extended Family Inc. is safer and more effective at providing comprehensive at home care than a neighbor, family friend or independent caregiver.
Choosing the Right Caregiver
Providing quality care is about developing positive personal relationships. We also know that not every two people are a perfect fit. We carefully match the client with a caregiver based on needs, personality and common interests. If our initial choice does not suit your needs, we try again. Then, we conduct a personal introduction and orientation. This ensures both the senior and caregiver are comfortable with each other and that the Plan of Care is understood by both. Interviewing our staff is always an option if one would like to personally select their caregiver.
We make sure the relationship has a great start. Over time, our relationships develop and flourish, providing a new sense of freedom.
Get More than Advice
You can bring a professional caregiver around to test the waters. Your loved one might be more receptive to a caregiver’s opinions, and receiving help might not be as hard to approach as you speculated.
We help you just as much as we help your loved one. With initial resistance, we would suggest a trial run. You don’t need to make a final decision about the care that you need, it’s more about getting a caregiver acquainted and seeing how help can work. Sometimes, people don’t even realize that a person is a caregiver depending on their mental capacity. They might assume it is just a friend of yours or a neighbor.
Personal Care Services
Extended Family Home Care provides comprehensive personal care services including:
- Bathing
- Dressing and grooming
- Assistance with mobility
- Feeding
- Diet and monitoring of food and liquid intake,
- Toileting and incontinence care
- Transfers and positioning
These services are essential to maintaining your loved one’s quality of life as well as their safety. Our caregivers are highly skilled professionals able to assist with these tasks while maintaining your loved one’s comfort and dignity.
Companionship Services
We also provide a wide range of companionship services. These include:
- Cognitive stimulation
- Assistance with daily routines
- Meal planning and cooking
- Errands and Grocery Shopping
- Medication reminders
- Conversation and companionship
At Extended Family Home Care, we treat your loved one like family and provide them with not only quality home care, but companionship.
Leaders in Our Field
We know that continuing education is essential to providing the highest quality care for your loved one. We strive to be leaders in our field, and as such, our staff is constantly receiving the most advanced training so that we may better serve you. We begin with a comprehensive orientation process that familiarizes our caregivers with our policies and procedures. All caregivers are managed with performance assessments and have training and certifications that meet or exceed state requirements.
Our training includes annual competency examinations, and in-service sessions providing ongoing specialized training that are conducted bi-monthly to ensure competency in our caregivers. Extended Family Home Care has received the “Leaders in Dementia Care” certification from the American Alzheimer’s Association. Our supervisory staff is very involved in the day-to-day care of our clients. Our caregivers get the support they need and supervision to ensure the best care possible for your loved one.
Other Considerations
When choosing a home healthcare agency, there are other benefits. We are licensed by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. You can be confident our employees have been meticulously screened and assessed by a personality profile. To ensure the safety of our employees and elderly clients we do not contract out our services. Our entire team is employed by Extended Family Home Care. It is our responsibility to provide your family with an experienced, responsible, and trustworthy caregiver and that is why we ensure the following:
- Professional Liability Insurance & Bonding
- Workers’ Compensation
- Criminal Background Check – State & Nationwide
- DMV Driver’s Record & Valid Car Insurance
- Extensive Reference Check
We also provide important services not offered by privately contracted caregivers, such as home safety evaluations and inspections. We are trained to identify and remedy safety hazards within your loved one’s home, as well as provide safety recommendations such as a medical alert system or grab bars. We are also able to offer 24-hour and end of life care. Another major benefit an agency provides is a back-up caregiver should your caregiver be out sick. This isn’t the case if you hire a private caregiver. We are on-call 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, we are here for you.
Choosing a caregiver can be difficult, and at Extended Family, we strive to provide the most professional and comprehensive service available to your loved one. We will never “randomly” assign a caregiver to your family. We diligently work to carefully match the senior client and caregiver and encourage your participation in this selection process. This is not a complete list of our services, so please contact us today so that we may answer any questions about customized, quality care.
