5 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Home Agency to Take Care of Your Loved One

For many families in the United States, looking for an unemployed friend or relative is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about home care. In many cases, the “friend” receives some allowance for their services. The pay is usually cheaper than hiring a professional agency.

You might find yourself in this situation at some point. However, many things could go wrong if you hire a private person. Read on to learn more.

Options When Hiring a Caregiver

You are probably looking for home care assistance because your loved one cannot handle some basic tasks alone. Elderly home care is quite common in the United States because most people live up to 78 years. In other cases, the patient may have suffered an injury or a severe illness.

Companies that offer home care services are quite efficient if you need someone for the job immediately. You do not have to settle for an individual that you do not trust. If you feel that something does not sit right with a candidate, they will be replaced without any questions.

Service Quality and Supervision

If you call too many times, your hire will feel micromanaged. You will be walking on eggshells even when you need to ensure that things are in order. Home care agencies take it upon themselves to check up on patients and their families to ensure that everything is okay. If your mom, dad, or older parent does not like the services offered by the professional caregiver, a replacement will be sent immediately.

Additionally, home care agencies will always provide you with a contact person because they know that elderly home care services are quite sensitive. You can reach out to them and ask questions any time.

Conducting Criminal and Background Checks

Most likely, your caregiver is an acquaintance or a relative that you may know quite well. However, everyone has a secret! Some individuals are legally concealed by the government while others by the medical systems.

It is impossible to know whether the friend was arrested at some point in their life. Understandably, you may also feel a little disrespectful asking them whether they have any contagious diseases.

Home care agencies are obliged to dig deep into their workers’ backgrounds. It is the only way to get clients to trust their services. While discrimination of any kind has no place in many home care agencies, the needs and lives of the clients are critical.

Accident Injuries May Get You Sued

You may not know it now, but if the person taking care of mom or dad is injured in your home, they can sue you, your elderly kin, or the entire family for the medical bill. Home care agencies have workers compensation insurance for their workers.

It implies that you and your family cannot be touched if something goes wrong. The caregivers are fully insured against workplace accidents and injuries as part of home health care.

Failure to Show Up

You may sit at home waiting for the person you have hired to show up. Many people will be satisfied with a call that confirms that the individual will be at your place by a particular time. Things happen, and people do not show up as intended. He or she may change their mind when least expected, decide to go on a date or feel too bored to work.

Home care agencies will not expose you to this problem since they offer round the clock home care. If a caregiver cannot show up, another one will be at your home by the designated time. Your plans for the day will not be affected in any way.

Final Word

Most families need home care services at some point to take care of their elderly while fulfilling their professional mandates. If you are in this situation, do not be tempted to hire a relative or a friend. A lot could go wrong from failure to show up to potential lawsuits against grandma or grandpa. To learn more about home care agencies and the services they offer, call us today.

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Simple Ways Seniors Can Exercise in Their Homes

Exercise is a vital part of living a happy and fruitful life. However, it’s especially important for seniors who live alone or require home health care. Getting up and moving your body for even 10 minutes a day can make a huge difference in your overall mobility, strength, and confidence. To learn more about the importance of physical activity, and how to implement it in little ways as a senior, read on.

The Health Benefits of Exercise

Seniors over the age of 65 should be getting around 2.5 hours of exercise every week. Brisk walking outdoors for 30 minutes is ideal, as it exposes you to the sunny benefits of vitamin D, allows you to get some fresh air, and gets your heart pumping. However, if you or your loved one has a hard time leaving the house due to moderate to severe health issues, these next small exercises around the house will do just fine.

Proper Exercises

Below, you will find easy exercises that can be done around the home.

Sofa Leg Lifts

Sit down on a couch or sofa. Next, straighten your legs and bring them up towards the ceiling, with your toes pointed up. Then, bring them back down to the ground after a couple of seconds. This exercise, when performed routinely, should improve your core strength and stability.

Walking Up and Down the Stairs

If you live in a house with stairs, walk up and down the first few steps to get your daily dose of anaerobic exercise. Do this for two minutes, take a break, and continue for another two.

Chair Sits

For this next exercise, practice getting up from a chair in the kitchen or living room, walking around it, and sitting back down.

Weighted Exercise

Lastly, purchase some hand weights to add some resistance to your workout. These dumbbells are usually between one to two pounds, making this an easy way to incorporate resistance training without a gym membership. If you don’t have hand weights, you might be able to use household items like soup cans or other weighted containers. Perform bicep curls for your upper body.

When You Need Round-the-Clock Home Health Care

However, health encompasses a lot more than just exercise alone. After a certain age, you also have to consider your diet or your prescribed medication if you take any. Therefore, if you or a loved one is in need of home health care, contact us today to learn more about our home health care services for the senior in your life. There’s no shame in asking for help. Contact Alarys Home Care today.

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The Five Key Benefits of Aging in Place

The number of Americans age 65 and older will make up nearly 24% of the population by the year 2060. While aging is inevitable, it’s smart to plan for how we will care for our aging loved ones when they start to need assistance.

Long-term care facilities are an option; however, many people are now turning towards elderly home care services to allow their loved ones to age in place in their homes where they are more comfortable. Home health care services are certainly something to consider if your loved one isn’t in need of advanced care and it can be beneficial for those who don’t want to move into an unfamiliar location.

The Benefits of Elderly Home Care Services

As mentioned above, elderly home care service can be the perfect solution for seniors who need assistance, but otherwise don’t need an advanced level of care. There are many benefits that can come with elderly home care services, a few of which include:

    1. Independence
      Losing their independence is something no senior wants to go through. One of the largest advantages that home health care can provide is the ability to retain independence and control over their daily routines. They can do what they want and have meals when they want, instead of having to worry about adjusting to the schedule of a facility. Additionally, if they can no longer drive themselves, caregivers can provide transportation to ensure that they can still get out and go to the places they want.
    2. Comfort
      While assisted living and long-term care facilities do their best to provide a comfortable space to their residents, as the saying goes, there’s no place like home. By being able to receive care in their own homes, seniors can retain the comfort of sleeping in their own beds, using their own facilities, and continuing their daily routines as normal. Being able to stay in a familiar setting can be beneficial for those suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia as they will be more aware of the home they’ve lived in longest, as opposed to a new facility they have no prior knowledge of.
    3. One-on-One Care
      Another one of the biggest benefits is the ability to receive one-on-one care. As opposed to long-term care facilities or assisted living facilities where multiple residents make it hard for nurses and caregivers to attend to each resident personally, an at-home caregiver can devote as much attention as needed to ensure that all needs are met and that your loved one is comfortable.
    4. Companionship
      While we want to be there for our loved ones as much as possible, sometimes we can’t devote enough time to stopping by every day. At home care gives seniors not just a caregiver, but a familiar and friendly face that they can talk to and bond with. Often times loneliness and isolation are the biggest concerns that face the elderly population, home care seeks to mitigate this problem and provide seniors with a stable source of companionship.
    5. Owning a Pet
      As with human companionship, having a pet can help keep a senior’s morale up. Having home care also means that they won’t have to potentially give up their pet to move into a facility where they can’t be together. Studies have shown that pets can further reduce loneliness, calm dementia patients, and reduce the risks of heart disease. An at-home caregiver ensures that your loved one can keep their pets and can even provide assistance caring for them as well.

If you have a loved one who could benefit from extra assistance, consider the benefits of aging in place with elderly home care services. Not only can this type of care help keep them in a place where they are most comfortable, but it can provide them with one-on-one care that enables them to continue living their lives to the fullest. Contact Alarys Home Care for homecare services in Phoenix today.

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The Benefits of 24 Hour In Home Care for You and Your Loved Ones

In the United States, more than 65 million people are struggling to care for loved ones with disabilities, health conditions, or diminished physical and mental capacities due to aging. Since many of these individuals are also trying to balance making an income, maintaining their household, and raising kids, it’s no surprise that caregiver burnout is on the rise. This is a challenging situation for anyone — and yet, many people do not want to place their loved ones in facilities such as nursing homes. However, 24 hour in home care may be the solution.

The Need for 24 Hour in Home Care

The senior population is growing rapidly. Understandably, most seniors want to stay in their own homes as long as possible. Unfortunately, many adult children live too far away to care for their aging parents. Even when they can provide caregiving, the job can put a great strain on them, causing them to lose work hours and become physically and emotionally exhausted. At this point, it makes sense to enlist professional help to fill the gaps or to provide relief for family members.

How 24 Hour in Home Care Can Help

The appeal of 24 hour in home care is that it lets disabled, ill, and elderly people stay in familiar, comfortable surroundings. Moreover, it costs far less than placing a loved one in a facility. Family members can have peace of mind, knowing that their loved one is being cared for by highly trained and compassionate professionals while they attend to their own needs. A reputable home health care agency will carefully select and educate its live-in staff before connecting clients to compatible staff members.

24 Hour in Home Care Services for Disabled, Ill, and Elderly Clients

An in home caregiver from a home care agency supervises your loved one, making sure they are moving safely around the home. They can help as needed with bathing, toileting, and personal hygiene, while treating the client with dignity and respect. The staff member takes care of regular household tasks like laundry, cleaning and organizing, taking out the trash, cooking, shopping for groceries, picking up medications, and anything else your loved one might need.

For those who require medication reminders, an in home caregiver can manage prescriptions and make sure the client is taking the right medication at the right time of day. This is especially important when a drug must be taken at a specific hour. The caregiver is also on hand to monitor the client for medication side effects and complications.

Companionship is another important service provided by live-in staff. Elderly people may find that their friends are passing away, or that they are physically incapable of traveling to social activities. Some even isolate themselves from family members, thinking they are too much of a burden. Loneliness can lead to anxiety and depression — two all-too-common conditions in seniors. Home care staff members should be matched with elderly clients based on shared interests and similar personalities so that they can enjoy each other’s company and engage in activities together. Caregivers can also drive clients to social activities and help schedule visits with friends and family members.

24 Hour in Home Care Services For the Short Term

An in-home caregiver can also help new mothers and people recovering from illness or a temporary disability. When caregivers are there for light housekeeping, shopping, errands, and the other tasks related to running a household, new mothers can focus on their babies and their new routine, and patients can focus on recovering their strength and abilities.

The elderly population is growing and the need for caregiving is growing right alongside. Most adult children cannot leave their jobs and their own young families in order to care for their aging parents. Those who try to juggle their regular responsibilities with caregiving often burn out both emotionally and physically. Around the clock home care allows seniors to stay in their homes and takes care of their needs, including medication management, personal care, companionship, meal preparation, and other tasks.

Remember that 24 hour in home care services are not just for the elderly. It’s also a viable solution for those with long-term and short-term disabilities, people who are recovering from serious illness, and even moms with newborns. Help with household duties, provided by well-trained, compassionate, and conscientious caregivers, allows people to regain their health. If your loved one needs round the clock assistance, contact local home health care service, Alarys, today.

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