What is care at home?
Any expert support services that enable a person to live safely in their home are considered to be part of home care. A person who is aging and requires assistance to live independently, is managing long-term health conditions, is recuperating from a medical setback, or has special requirements or a disability may benefit from in-home care services. Depending on a person’s needs, professional caregivers including nurses, aides, and therapists offer short- or long-term care in the home.
The home care assistance you need in the place you love.
To have the best quality of life possible, home care may be the answer. Through care provided in the security and comfort of home, home care can facilitate safety, security, and increased independence; it can simplify the management of an ongoing medical condition; it can help prevent unnecessary hospitalization; and it can speed up recovery after an illness, injury, or hospital stay.
Included in many home care services are:
- Assistance with daily tasks like dressing and bathing
- Assistance in managing household activities safely
- Companionship
- Services for therapy and rehabilitation
- Long-term or short-term nursing care for a condition, including tracheostomy and ventilator care
Varieties of home care
Not every provider of home care services provides every type of service. Eldercare Support Services provides non-medical home care. An overview of the many kinds of home care is provided in this brief tutorial. Services from one or more of the categories above may be included in care that is tailored to your particular requirements. Finding the best care for you might be aided by speaking with a provider about your needs.
Even though there are many kinds of home care, each one has the same objective: to help those receiving care live better, more independent lives while also giving their family support and peace of mind.
How we can assist with Personal Care and Companion Care
Our skilled and knowledgeable care professionals can help you if managing everyday personal activities or housekeeping chores has become more difficult. You may also require assistance getting to the store or your doctor’s appointment. Or perhaps your parents have dementia and require assistance to live comfortably at home.
- Grooming, dressing, using the restroom, and taking a bath
- Planning and preparing meals
- Laundry, light housekeeping, and errands
- Reminders for taking medications and picking up prescriptions
- Assistance with activities or hobbies, transportation to appointments or meetings, and general company
Care is offered up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The most effective care schedule to fulfill your needs will be decided in close consultation with you and your family.
Services for companionship and personal care may include:
- Self-care assistance, including help with grooming, bathing, dressing, and using the restroom
- Facilitating ambulation, transfer (from bed to wheelchair, wheelchair to bathroom), and fall avoidance to increase safety at home
- Planning and preparing meals, light housekeeping, laundry, errands, medicine reminders, and accompaniment to appointments are all things that can use some help.
- Having a friend and doing hobbies and activities
- A person with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease needs supervision
Personal care and companionship does not need to be prescribed by a doctor. Care provided on an ongoing basis on a schedule that meets a client’s needs, up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
A committed support group
Your Eldercare Support Services in-home caregivers are a vital element of a bigger group of committed care experts that work together to provide the best client service imaginable.
What Is Companion Care for the Elderly?
Companion care is a type of home care that provides non-medical services for senior citizens or adults with disabilities. Older adults often struggle with things like loneliness, housekeeping, and getting to appointments. Companion care helps handle some of these things to keep people in their homes longer.
“Companion care provides non-medical services for senior citizens or people with disabilities.”
What Are the Duties of a Companion?
Companion duties will vary depending on the needs of the client, but they may include:
- Companionship
- Light housekeeping such as dusting, organizing, and cleaning
- Cooking and cleaning up after the meal
- Running errands such as picking up medications or groceries
- Transportation for appointments and errands
- Doing the laundry
- Playing games together or reading aloud
- Communicating with family members
How Home Companion Care Works
Home care companion services allow people to stay in their homes longer by handling light housekeeping tasks, running errands, providing transportation, and offering companionship. The companion typically comes to the home on a set schedule, whether that’s a few hours a week or every day.
Does Medicare Cover Companion Care?
No, Medicare does not cover companion care if it is the only care you need (1). Medicare only covers home health care if:
- You are homebound, AND
- You’re getting services under a care plan created and reviewed regularly by a doctor, AND
- You need intermittent skilled nursing care (other than drawing blood), speech-language pathology, physical therapy, or continued occupational therapy services.
However, some Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage plans may cover in-home care services. You should review the details of your supplemental insurance to see whether companion care is included.
Does Your Loved One Need Companion Care Services?
Is your loved one experiencing reduced mobility or cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s or dementia? Do they seem to be lonely or struggle to keep up with things like housekeeping? Are you worried about them being alone all day long? Are you unable to spend as much time with your loved one as you would like?
There are many reasons your loved one may need companion care. Whatever the reason, companion care is often the first step toward providing assistance to your loved one while they get to stay at home and avoid the disruption of moving to an assisted living facility or nursing home.
If you’re searching for the right companion care provider, let us help you. We know how important it is to find the right match for your needs. Contact us today to learn more about our companion care services.
Companion Caregiving vs. Personal Caregiving
Companion care offers a wide variety of benefits. As the name implies, the best benefit is companionship. It’s more important than you might think. Humans are social creatures, and seniors tend to be isolated and lonely, which can impact their mental health.
Benefits of Companion Care
In one study, Lijun Liu, Zhenggang Gou, and Junnan Zuo concluded that:
“Social support partially mediates loneliness and depression (2).”
Minimizing or preventing loneliness and depression are some of the best benefits of companion care, but they aren’t the only ones. Other benefits of companion care include:
- Seniors can stay in their homes longer and age in place without needing to go to an assisted living facility or nursing home.
- The senior’s loved ones know they’re being taken care of when they can’t be there.
- Seniors no longer need to worry about some tasks that have become too difficult to keep up with.
- It’s easier for seniors to travel to appointments and run other errands.
- Family members no longer have the stress of handling these duties themselves all the time.
- Seniors are better able to keep their routines.
How Home Companion Care Works
Home care companion services allow people to stay in their homes longer by handling light housekeeping tasks, running errands, providing transportation, and offering companionship. The companion typically comes to the home on a set schedule, whether that’s a few hours a week or every day.
Does Medicare Cover Companion Care?
No, Medicare does not cover companion care if it is the only care you need (1). Medicare only covers home health care if:
- You are homebound, AND
- You’re getting services under a care plan created and reviewed regularly by a doctor, AND
- You need intermittent skilled nursing care (other than drawing blood), speech-language pathology, physical therapy, or continued occupational therapy services.
However, some Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage plans may cover in-home care services. You should review the details of your supplemental insurance to see whether companion care is included.
Call Eldercare Support Services at 586-719-2508 for more information and to get your questions answered. We will provide you with additional resources and provide an accurate quote for in-home care.
Eldercare Support Services supports seniors and families in Sterling Heights, Shelby Township, Macomb Township, Fraser, Utica, St. Clair Shores, Harrison Township, Grosse Pointe and surrounding areas.
Eldercare Support Services has over 40 years of community service experience. Our reputation is highly regarded throughout Macomb County. We understand what the “needs for services” are within our community, especially for our seniors. Our connection within the community runs deep.
- The Senior’s Guide To In-Home Care In Grosse Pointe, Michigan - March 24, 2023
- How to Care for an Aging Parent with Dementia in Sterling Heights, MI - January 17, 2023
- Sterling Heights Families Often Ask: What is Home Care? - November 25, 2022
