Learning About Home Health Care Techniques

Valuable Types of Long-Term Home Care You Can Arrange for an Elderly Parent

by Karl Bryant

As your parent ages, you'll often find that you're beginning to assume the role, at least partially, of a caregiver. While you might not have any problem with giving back to the person who helped you for so many years, you could be struggling to balance this type of care with your work and family life. Instead of falling short in any of these areas, it's worthwhile to consult a home healthcare agency such as First In Care Home Health Agency Inc and find out what long-term services are available. You may not need someone to spend all day with your parent, but you might want to have people drop by regularly to perform specific tasks. Here are some types of care you can arrange.

Bathing

Bathing your elderly parent is something that might by emotionally and physically taxing for you, so it's ideal to arrange a professional for this duty. Home-care aides have ample experience performing this job, and that means that the process will likely be easier for everyone involved if a professional takes over. You can arrange the frequency of the person's visits for this purpose. Not everyone needs or wants to bathe daily, so a visit three times per week, for example, might be the ideal frequency.

Exercise

People who are aging may begin to suffer from a lack of mobility, which can be a concern for a number of reasons. If your parent needs some encouragement, as well as some physical help, for getting up and exercising each day, a long-term home-care aide is just the right person for the job. This professional will know the right exercises that need to be performed as well as have the bedside manner to encourage your parent to get up and get active. Whether it's just getting up and walking across the room or taking a slow walk around the neighborhood, the presence of the health aide will help.

Medication Administration

If you've begun to be concerned that you can't rely on your elderly parent to take his or her medicine at the specified intervals, a home-health aide is the person to turn to. Administering medication, whether it's physically giving an injection or simply being in the room to ensure that a pill is successfully swallowed, is a key part of the job description for these professionals. You won't have to worry about reminding your parent over the phone to take his or her medication, nor will you be fretting afterward as you wonder if it was indeed taken.

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