There may come a time when your loved one needs in-home care, particularly if he or she is dealing with rehab and post-op or if he or she is struggling with medication management. Capital City Nurses provides home health care services, senior care, and professional senior care giving in Alexandria, VA and surrounding areas.

Difficulties in Communicating About Home Care With the Elderly

Most elderly people do not want to hear about needing in-home care or needing caregivers, as they often will see this as a loss of freedom and an inability for them to manage their own lives.  Such a conversation can upset them; some elderly people may even become angry because they do not want to hear about the possibility of needing help from another person within their own home.

Starting the Conversation About Home Care

Start by expressing the benefits your loved one will receive when a professional caregiver is providing home care to them.  Your loved one will stay in the familiar surroundings of their home, and the person coming to aid them will be like a guest who is just trying to make life easier for your loved one.  

Your loved one will still be head of the household and still be able to make decisions on what they will eat, do, and other activities; the caregiver is just there to help them accomplish those goals more easily, thereby leading to stress reduction for your loved one and they more easily maintaining senior brain health.

Tell your loved one that you are doing this because you are concerned about leaving them alone and do not want to worry about some accident possibly happening to them, and no one being aware of it to help them.  A caregiver should be with them to help provide a safe home environment, particularly when other members of the family cannot be there with them because of work, school, and other commitments.

How To Discuss Home Care With Your Older Loved Ones

Stress to your loved one that the caregiver will provide as little or as much home care as they want.  If your loved one needs help with bathing, preparing meals, cleaning, doing laundry, and other in-house tasks, the caregiver will assist them to accomplish these tasks more easily. This can vary by day; on some days, your loved one may want to do more of the work, while on other days, they may want to do less and have the caregiver do more of the work.

If your loved one feels strong and independent, perhaps they just want more companion care to where the caregiver is just there to talk with your loved one, play games, do fun activities, and more.  Let your loved one know that you are trying to help them have a more enjoyable and safer life and that they have input on what the caregiver should provide to them.  Let your loved one know that the caregiver will work with them to provide the life your loved one envisions having inside of their home.