While a sizable amount of the American population, and indeed the world’s population, is getting older all at the same time as the post-World War II generation reaches its golden years, the fact remains that they will still have to be cared for. While most of the nation’s senior population are doing all right so far, the fact is many of the senior do need assistance to live independently, without going to an assisted living home. However, some elderly people need more care than others, and sometimes need specific kinds of care to live on their own.
Home care vs. home health care sound similar, and in some ways are, but in many ways are not. Different people will need different forms of care and account for those differences can be very important in planning for a person’s twilight years, be it their own or those of a loved one. Knowing the care needed will likely make a huge impact on the frequency, necessity, difficulty and, of course, cost of any care. That said, both of these forms of care are intended to allow the seniors to live in their homes as long as possible without needing near-constant care at an assisted living facility.
Home care is a fairly simple affair that requires few qualifications. Mostly it involves assisting an elderly person who is mostly capable of taking care of themselves in the day to day matters but finds that some tasks are too difficult to handle on their own in old age. This may be as simple as cooking and cleaning a home, but it can get far more complicated if the elderly person has an illness or injury, ranging from a broken leg to dementia. Home caregivers will have to account for these problems to do their jobs right. Additionally, ensuring that the seniors under their care are safe is a vital element of the field.
Home health care is a more complicated and often a frightening affair. With home health care, a person who needs regular near-constant medical attention is regularly visited by a qualified health care professional, usually a qualified nurse to provide the kind of regular care that would normally be impossible outside of a hospital. However, these services can get quite expensive as hospital level care does not come cheap even in places where it is readily available, let alone after all the difficulties of delivering it directly to the patient’s home. Still, for those who can afford it, home health care that allows the seniors to avoid a long term stay at the hospital is worth every penny.
Both home care and home health care can be essential for the psychological well-being of the elderly person receiving it, as assisted living homes and hospitals can be a strain on any person. Arranging for this kind of care can be important for the elderly and their families who wish to ensure their loved ones are tended to in their old age.