Home companion services provide an ideal option for individuals who desire to remain at home but require help with basic daily tasks, but do not provide hands-on medical support such as a home health aide does.
Finding an appropriate caregiver and matching them to the needs of your senior loved one are keys to providing home companion services for them. Some indicators of home companion services needing to be provided include lacking nutritious food in the house and frequent comments about loneliness.
Personal Care
Home companion services provide vital assistance for seniors needing assistance with bathing, grooming and shopping. Companions often visit seniors on a weekly basis to prepare meals, clean homes and complete other household duties – not forgetting providing transportation for doctors’ appointments or grocery store runs!
Before hiring a home care companion, be sure to pose questions to the agency providing it. Find out their length of employment at their agency, what happens if a caregiver falls ill or goes on vacation and the costs involved with holiday and weekend visits.
Furthermore, you should inquire as to whether the agency conducts background checks on its employees and trains its caregivers appropriately. Visiting Angels provides free in-home safety evaluations with knowledgeable coordinators in order to determine which caregiver matches your family best. Once chosen, Visiting Angels then designs an individualized care plan tailored specifically towards keeping your loved ones safe at home while offering ongoing training programs designed to keep them protected at home.
Transportation
Home companion services provide invaluable assistance for seniors and individuals living with disabilities to run essential errands like grocery shopping and getting haircuts, transport to medical appointments, social activities and provide much-needed social contact with others. Since many seniors live far away from family members, these services serve as vital social networks which prevent isolation and loneliness.
Homemaker-companion services can also assist seniors and people living with disabilities manage their home, such as cleaning, laundry or cooking meals. Caregivers may also help run errands like paying bills or taking an elderly person to the post office.
Home companions provide not only companionship and assistance with daily errands, but they may also assist with bathing or dressing if required. While not covered by Medicare plans, Medicaid may cover this type of non-medical home care; individuals should check with their provider to learn more.
Medication Reminders
If your elderly loved one requires multiple prescriptions to remain healthy and safe, it is essential that they take them at the prescribed times each day. Failure to do so could cause adverse reactions that lead to serious consequences; as this article discusses.
Seniors can find assistance through various products and services to remind them to take their medications, from tangible products such as pill dispensers to digital apps that send daily phone calls or text messages reminding individuals when it is time to take their meds.
Hero offers an ideal pill dispenser, featuring individual pill compartment locks and programming for precise medication dispensation at any specific time of day. Furthermore, this device provides caregivers with weekly summary reports, as well as alerting text message or phone call alerts if a medication is not taken on time – ideal for individuals who forget or misunderstand dosage instructions.
Socialization
Home companion services provide seniors who suffer from social isolation with emotional and mental stimulation that they require. Caregivers can visit once or twice weekly to assist with meal prep, cleaning duties and transportation needs.
Individuals who could benefit from home companion services include those who need assistance managing daily activities, persons living with disabilities and those needing reminders to take medication or bathe, according to Miner. It may also provide family caregivers a respite from their caregiving duties.
Galaxy Home Care provides homecare assistance services to seniors, adults with disabilities and other clients needing help in their homes. Home companion services are offered on either a live-in or consumer-directed model; assessments are performed prior to beginning services and ongoing reassessments and ISP reviews performed for all those receiving home companion service; training requirements set out by 12VAC30-122-180 are met by all staff who deliver home companion service.