Exploring Home Health Care Services

Posted on: 19 October 2022

Caring for an elderly family member can be both difficult and rewarding. Doing right by your charge means taking care of both their needs and your own, and these tips can help you with achieving that balance. 

1. Schedule Days Off

Every family caregiver should have at least one day off each week to attend to their own family, social, and life maintenance needs. This time should be spent away from your charge and their home so that you have a chance to concentrate on just yourself for a while. You can hire a caregiver for only one day a week, which will allow you this necessary day off. 

2. Get Help for Difficult Tasks

Some tasks can be difficult or impossible for a family caregiver to perform, such as safely giving your charge a bath or tending to specific medical needs. There may also be tasks that you simply despise. Bringing in a professional caregiver to provide you assistance with difficult tasks or to perform those tasks you can't stand makes your life easier and ensures your charge gets the quality of care they deserve.

3. Enact a Self Care Routine

Although your loved one depends on you, putting their needs above your own leads to burnout and poor care for both you and your charge. Schedule some downtime every day where you can read or partake of a hobby, take a nice long bath, or do any small thing that helps you feel relaxed and recharged.  Hiring a part-time caregiver can aid in these goals. 

4. Keep Good Records

If you are the only one that knows the daily schedule and health needs of your charge, then it is exceptionally difficult to ask for effective help. Starting a caregiver's binder allows you to provide seamless care even with the help of a helper or three. A caregiving agency will likely provide their own system of both daily record keeping and needs recording, but you can start your own binder now so you are ready in the event you decide to hire a caregiver in the future. 

5. Engage Your Charge

Needing care can be just as isolating as being the caregiver, and a stressed or unhappy person is more difficult to care for. Providing your loved one with a social outlet that isn't centered around their family caregiver and care team can help relieve everybody's stress. Adult daycare and senior social programs in your area can provide this needed social outlet while also providing the family caregiver with some time off.

Contact an elderly home care service if you are ready for some assistance. To learn more about elderly home care, contact a professional near you.