There are many things to consider when our loved ones get older, but the main question likely to arise is the question of senior care. If there is one thing most seniors agree on it’s that nobody likes the prospect of moving to a nursing home.
Even though nursing homes provide all the services a senior might need, they are still a frightening concept for most seniors. Moving to a nursing home means leaving your entire life behind, as seniors are forced to leave everything they’ve been working for their entire life.
In most cases, moving a senior loved one to a nursing home is not even necessary, especially with options like homecare West Hollywood residents can easily find today. Sure, if they are facing serious health issues and require constant care, a nursing home might be the only choice and the best one for both the senior and their family.
There are many reasons seniors might be opposed to the idea of moving to a nursing home. And if they are, you should know that there are a lot of alternatives at your disposal. In many cases, these alternatives are better than having your senior loved ones moved to a nursing home, as they offer a greater level of care at their own home. Read on to learn what the best alternatives to nursing homes are.
Shared Care
In most cases when seniors need assistance at home, family members step in to help. But sometimes family members may be too busy looking after their own children or too busy at work. In other cases, family members might live too far away from their senior loved ones to be able to provide daily care, let alone quality care provided by professionals.
Sometimes, one family member is not enough to provide the amount of care a senior needs. In these cases, having multiple family members sharing the caring duties may be exactly what your senior loved one needs. Splitting the load among the family members may keep senior parents out of the nursing home.
Sharing the care doesn’t have to be limited to family members. If your senior loved one has neighbors and friends who care about them enough to help out with in-home care, having them drop by from time to time may be the ideal solution when family members are not available or live too far away to be there every day.
Finally, you may be able to share the caregiving duties with a professional caregiver. This way you could both save money on caregiving and still have enough time for your own family. Nursing homes are very expensive, so regardless of the loved one’s level of independence, a caregiver is always a more affordable choice compared to an assisted living facility or a nursing home.
Consider Moving to a More Affordable Area
If you have to rely on in-home care services and it’s too expensive for you to handle, consider moving to another area if your senior loved one does not mind moving as long as they stay independent. Costs of in-home care vary from the state from state and from area to area. So home care in urban areas will likely be more expensive than in rural or suburban areas.
If your senior loved one lives in an expensive part of town, talk to them about moving to a suburban area, like an old family home out of town. This way, you may even be able to move them closer to where the rest of the family lives and try the shared care option described above.
Hire Affordable Companion Care
If your senior loved one does not need a nurse for medical reasons but a companion to help them out with some light household work and keep them company, you could always hire a thoughtful caregiver through referral agencies like A Better Way in Home Care.
The company will offer a list of suitable caregivers and you can choose the one that you think will be the best match for your senior loved one. Caregivers can also provide household services such as light housekeeping, cooking, transportation, running errands and others. This type of home care is a much more affordable alternative to nursing homes that gives seniors more freedom and a caring companion.
