Time waits for no one; before we know it, we’re older and limited in our physical abilities. You can’t enjoy life the way you used to when you were younger. It can be a sobering reality for many people that eventually they’ll get older and depend on others to take care of them. If the family is not able to move the elderly family member in, it’s common for them to live in a nursing home facility. However, most families have found it’s better to have home care due to cost and convenience. Here are the benefits of home health care.
One significant advantage of home health care is it costs less to keep the patient home than at the hospital. Home health care professionals provide a range of medical services for those discharged from the hospital, yet they need medical attention. Keep in mind that home health care may seem like a logical solution; it can add up over time. The average cost to have home health care is about $22.00 an hour when you consider the expenses of continuing home care, family members missing work to help out, and the cost of more services as needed.
Patients have the freedom and independence to recover in the comfort of their home. Most seniors wish to continue medical treatment and live their remaining time in their home. In most cases, home care delays the family from placing the patient in a nursing home. Although most patients benefit from a familiar environment, the opposite may happen— the person withdraws from society and stays in bed most of the time. In this case, placing the patient in a nursing home facility is beneficial for his sanity. He can socialize with other patients.
Another advantage of in-home care is the patient receives one-on-one attention, something he will not get at a hospital or nursing home. The home care professional can tend to their every need. In a nursing home, sometimes it’s one staff member responsible for caring for 10 or more patients. The disadvantages of this are it’s easier for elderly abuse and abandonment to occur. Also, federal nor state laws regulate home health care.
When the patient is home, it’s easier for family members to take turns caring for him in addition to having in-home care. The senior is familiar with the family and is more receptive of daily routines (e.g., taking medication, bathing, etc.). The downfall is sometimes the responsibility falls on one family member to take care of the patient, while others are busy with their lives. The family member can get burned out quickly. If the family can’t agree on the patient’s in-home care, he usually ends up in a nursing home.
Almost every state offers home health care for discharged patients that cannot stay in a hospital, yet they need to continue medical treatment. In-home care has many benefits, allowing family members to save money while the patient receives one-on-one attention.
As the life expectancy rate in America continues to grow, more and more families are facing issues related to caring for aging relatives. For a variety of reasons, there may come the point when it’s not feasible for a relative to take care of themselves. For many years, the only course of action for families in this situation was to place the relative in a nursing home. However, there are good reasons to consider using a health care service that comes to your relative. Here are five advantages to choosing in-home elder care services.
Specially Trained For At-Home Care
In-home elder care services use highly skilled professionals who are trained to help patients in environments outside of traditional hospital and nursing home settings. Aging in place creates unique challenges. To provide the level of care a patient needs, in-home care specialists are trained on how to handle the various issues that may arise For some people, having someone around or on-call who can help with the age-related matters is all the patient needs to remain at home and keep their independence.
Individual Attention for Needs and Health Concerns
When placing their loved ones in managed care, it’s common for people to be concerned about how much personal attention they are receiving. These concerns are valid concerns since many facilities keep their minimum level of staff needed to meet state requirements. Traditional staffing levels at nursing homes make it hard for nurses to focus on an individual resident. With in-home care, the nurse can devote their entire attention to the patient and their needs. When you use an in-home care service, like River Oaks Home Care, your relative has the same small team of nurses and caregivers. The individual care also makes it easier for the person to bond with their team of caregivers, which also provides healthy social interactions.
Person Gets to Remain in a Familiar Environment
The most significant benefit of in-home is keeping the patient in their old home. Older adults are justified in their desire to remain in the places where they have lived for years. A house is filled with memories and familiarity that a nursing home can’t replace, and it can be a hard adjustment for many people. By using in-home care services, there’s less disruption to the life of your loved one, and they don’t have to adjust to a new environment. They are near their friends, favorite restaurants, places of worship, etc. In-home care gives the patient more independence.
Reduced Risk of Infection
Something that is often overlooked when considering in-home versus managed care is the risk of infectious diseases. Nursing homes do everything they can to minimize the risk of germs spreading from person to person, but it’s impossible to prevent all vectors for illness. Whenever you put a large number of people in one space, it increases the risk of spreading germs. Besides the possible viruses from other residents of the nursing home, there are also the germs from staff and visitors to considers. The risk of death from seasonal cases of flu increases as someone ages. Compared to nursing homes, in-home care has significantly fewer opportunities for illnesses to spread.
Potentially Lower Costs.
Because you aren’t paying for a large facility and staff, in-home care services can be less expensive than nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Depending on the situation, you may only need to hire an in-home care specialist for specific times of day rather than have someone with your relative 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Many people overlook the option of in-home care for their aging relatives due to price concerns. However, as the number of qualified in-home nurses increased, the cost of in-home care has dropped, and more insurances are making paying for in-home care options. Depending on the services the patient needs, in-home elder care may be a less expensive option than moving your relative into a nursing home.
If you’re trying to decide on the best care option for family members with age-related health issues, the specialists at River Oaks Home Care can help you weigh the options. Contact River Oaks Home Care to learn more about getting in-home health care services for your loved ones.
If you or a loved one can no longer care for themselves, you have the option of either sending them to live-in a care facility or allowing them to stay in their home by hiring a homecare service to help them.
Homecare is the preference of many people because it allows them to remain in a familiar place and keep their home and belongings. It also gives them a better sense of freedom and more happiness. If you are ready to hire a home care company for yourself or a loved one, consider these tips to help you choose the right one.
It is that time of the season where slips, trips and falls occur at an increasing number. The following are a few safety tips:
Wear the proper footgear. Remember that no shoe sole material is perfect under all conditions. Shoe soles made of hard plastic or leather and high-heeled shoes are less than ideal, especially during wet weather.
Take small steps to keep your center of balance under you and extend arms to the side with hands out of your pocket to maintain balance.
Point your feet out slightly like a penguin to increase your center of gravity.
Walk slowly and never run on icy ground.
Avoid carrying loads on stairways.
Walk in designated walkways and look ahead when you walk.
Keep walkways clear of debris, water, ice and slippery materials.
Use floor mats to remove moisture from the soles of your shoes upon entering a building.
Be aware of your footing and any potential slip, trip or fall hazard that may be present.
Report slip, trip and fall hazards.
Use special care when entering and exiting vehicles.
Slip and fall injuries are common but these can be prevented. Have a safe winter!
The VA Aid and attendance is a tax-free benefit distributed to eligible honorably discharged veterans or their surviving spouses. It’s the highest level of Veterans Administrations Improved Pension Program. Those approved will receive monthly benefit that must be used as a reimbursement for the cost of acceptable medical expenses from the Veterans Administration (VA). This aid or assistance can be provided at home, in an assisted living facility, or a nursing home. Home care services are an acceptable medical expense.
Many veterans use this supplemental pension to help pay for supportive home care, medications, Assisted Living, etc.
This most important benefit is overlooked by many families with Veterans or surviving spouses who need additional cash flow to help care for ailing parents and loved ones. There is over $1B each year unclaimed by people who could qualify but never applied.
Wartime veterans or surviving spouses of veterans may be eligible for up to $2,100 per month via the Veterans Affairs (VA) Pension With Aid & Attendance Benefit – that can pay for a personal assistant to come into their home part-time.
Challenges To Getting The Benefit
Most people simply don’t know the benefit exists! Our goal is to educate our local community about the benefit so they can choose whether or not they want to take advantage of it.
How Do I Qualify For The Benefit?
Service Requirements
Wartime Service (or widow of wartime Veteran)
Served at least 90 days of actual ACTIVE DUTY
Served at least one day during a war period
Honorable discharge
Age & Medical Condition
Over age 65
Need assistance with activities of daily living
Limit on Assets
As of October 18, 2018, the VA will increase the asset limits for all applicants of the VA Pension Aid and Attendance Benefit to $123,000
Assets VA Does Not Count
Exempt Assets:
Home (must live in it)
Vehicles
Personal property
Benefit Conflicts
Veterans and their families should be aware of potential eligibility conflicts between pensions and other assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs and / or other government programs.
Veterans cannot receive both VA Disability compensation and VA Aid and Attendance Pension. However, they can receive the higher benefit of the two programs.
If a Surviving Spouse is receiving Dependents Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and needs assistance with his or her activities of daily living, she or he can qualify for additional assistance, approximately $300 / month. However, a surviving spouse cannot receive both DIC and a death pension on the same veteran.
Receiving a VA pension may disqualify a veteran from receiving Medicaid benefits. Often times the level of income assistance received from the Aid & Attendance benefit will exceed the maximum allowable amount of monthly income to receive Medicaid assistance.
Steps To Get Started.
Contact us (Phone: 267-755-7500 or Email: info@riveroakshomecare.com) to fill out a Pension With Aid & Attendance Benefit Referral Form.This will allow our Accredited Benefit Agents to see if you may qualify for the benefit. *We are not legally allowed to determine your eligibility.
*We do not charge families for assisting them with filing a VA benefit application. You cared for us……now it’s our turn to care for you.
