Home Care Services

There are lots of misconceptions surrounding home care services. It is a difficult subject, principally because if you are Googling this it means you are likely in a situation where you have a loved one and need some assistance in caring for them. In conjunction, there is understandably a lot of emotion that quickly comes into play. Pondering who will care for them, their ability to do so, will it be up to your own standards (likely not). These are all difficult questions to answer and as such home care services is not simply a purchase. It’s adding someone else to your extended family and that’s a big decision.

First up, not all home care services offer the same suite of features. There is personal care and companionship where the person is receiving help with everyday activities such as meal preparation, dressing and household tasks. These providers are non-medical care professionals, assistive care or companion care providers as well as home health aide services. We then have private duty nursing care, which is long-term nursing care for adults with complicated and chronic illnesses, disabilities or injuries. This is long-term, likely the length of the person’s remaining years. Typical services with this category are ventilator care, hourly nursing, tracheostomy care and catastrophic care. And lastly, home health care. These are short-term care services designed to help a patient recover from a hospital stay, illness or injury. The easiest comparison here is a nasty car accident where post-hospital stay the person is confined to the house and needs a considerable amount of recuperative care.

Depending on where you live the costs associated with home care services varies widely. In general, personal care or companionship is paid either via the person receiving the care or something similar to Medicaid or long-term care insurance. Other sources could be workers’ compensation, veterans’ benefits and private pay. If a specific qualification has been stipulated, Medicare or private insurance will typically step in.

A cursory web search of home care services in your area will likely overwhelm you. As we age worldwide these services are in high demand, and especially those countries with more disposable income have seen demand surge. The first stop however should not be the home care service but rather a doctor. Your loved one’s doctor will know exactly what is necessary in terms of services. These services are a business like any other so you might end up getting up-sold (for services you don’t need) if you aren’t up to speed on what exactly you need, and what you don’t.

Next, talk to family and friends. Heck, even solicit help over your own social media platforms. If your buddy from college whom you trust has his aunt with a certain agency and is happy, odds are you’d likely be happy as well. Referrals are king in this sector, so don’t be afraid to reach out, explain your situation, and obtain referrals. What follows is the budget, something we already touched on. The initial numbers are enough to induce severe abdominal pains. Who knew keeping a loved one cared for could break the bank! Well, before going down that road let’s just hope your kids will do the same for you. Growing old is not cheap, make no mistake about it. This is why a budget is key though. You don’t want to put your own family at risk either, so a mature analysis of your finances is a good idea.

Lots to ponder over. But if you’re like a third of the planet, you have some time on your hands.