Being a primary caregiver is taxing, and you shouldn’t try to go it alone as your aging loved one begins to require more attention. Professional home care can provide the relief you need by providing high-quality care for elderly relatives.

Research the Options

If you’re ready to make the switch to professional home care, consider the challenges your loved one faces.

Are daily tasks like bathing and cooking becoming difficult? Is mobility or transportation a problem? Is he or she suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s? Look for an in-home caregiver with experience handling these specific needs.

Discuss the Change

Aging relatives may not realize they need a higher level of care or understand the strain being a primary caregiver is putting on you.

It’s common to encounter resistance to the idea of long-term home care, whether because your loved one is afraid of having a stranger in the house or he or she feels see change as a form of abandonment.

To ease these fears, explain why you need help providing care and how a professional caregiver can make life easier for both you and your loved one while allowing them to retain their independent living situation.

Discuss the duties in-home care would handle, and confirm you’ll still be active in providing help when needed.

Ready the Home

Rearrange the house to make it easy for a professional caregiver to perform his or her job. This may include ensuring your loved one’s favorite foods are close at hand in the kitchen, stocking the TV stand with beloved movies or setting up the bathroom for the morning and evening routines.

It’s also a good idea to secure valuable items and put bills and personal letters into drawers to protect your loved one’s privacy.

Monitor the Transition

Check in with your loved one and the caregiver on a regular basis to make sure everything is going well. Expect the initial transition to be a little rocky as the caregiver learns your relative’s routines and the two of them get to know each other. If problems continue, however, you may need to intervene directly or consider hiring someone else.

Bringing in professional help makes long-term care easier for you and gives your elderly loved one the support, attention and reassurance necessary to stay comfortable as he or she faces increasing health challenges.

At Caring Home Care, we want to ensure a smooth transition for yourself and your aging relative. Our mission is to find the right caregiver to provide you not only with the care you need, but peace of mind.