Understanding Home Health Care Challenges

Being the primary caregiver for a loved one can sometimes feel like a full-time job, and balancing your care-giving responsibilities with your work and family life can also be overwhelming at times. Home care services can help to fill in for you while you handle those other roles. Here are a few services your home care service can provide for your loved one and for you.

Housekeeping

Whether your loved one lives with you or you visit daily to provide care, housekeeping chores can take up precious time. Your home care service can provide light housekeeping help, such as handling your loved one's laundry, cleaning his or her room, and keeping the bathroom clean and ready for use. If your loved one lives with you, the housekeeping services may not include help for the rest of your family, but even a little bit of help can often go a long way.

Nutrition And Meal Planning

Your loved one may have specific dietary needs. This may be based on having diabetes or having food restrictions based on daily medications or other medical conditions. Your home care helper can provide assistance in meal planning to ensure your relative gives the nutrition he or she needs along with meals that actually taste good. In some cases, the home care service may even offer meal preparation assistance. This means you won't have to cook separate meals for your family and your loved one. Ask whether or not grocery shopping is included as part of the meal planning, as this can also help to relieve some of your regular duties each week.

Transportation

Providing transportation to and from doctor appointments can be difficult, particularly if you have a full-time job. You may not be able to take time off of work, but a home care service can provide transportation to and from medical appointments. The service may also be able to take your loved one to social engagements, such as local bingo nights. Having the ability to still go out and do fun things can help your loved one to maintain a sense of independence, and not having to rely on you for transportation can also help him or her to feel like you aren't being expected to do everything.

If your loved one just needs a bit of extra help getting around, or if you are feeling overwhelmed as a primary caregiver, consider home care services as a way to ensure your relative gets the care he or she needs while giving you a bit of flexibility in your daily schedule.