Children of elderly people face a moral dilemma when their parents enter their twilight years. Should the parents live with one of their children or will they be better off living in a geriatric care facility? Some think those who put their parents in facilities are heartless and ungrateful. After all, aren’t the twilight years the best time for kids to pay their parents back? On the other hand, some will rather let their parents live with them.
No Guilt
There’s nothing wrong with both options. Having aged parents live with their children is always a good idea, but on the flipside, it can be overwhelming especially if the parents have medical needs that need constant supervision. The needs of the elderly are better met in a facility, but then, the fees required by geriatric facilities are no joke.
Fortunately, those two are not the only options as far as elder care is concerned. Overall, elder care is the process of giving intensive care and health services to aid elderly individuals. The essence of giving care and health service to the elderly may be evaluated for a short period to find out whether they need help addressing minor health issues or they fall under the long-term care category because of their deteriorating health.
Elder care encompasses a wide scope that involves not just assisting the elderly with their day-to-day physical activities but also to encouraging them to promote longevity of life, supporting social interaction and independency.
Simply put, elder care means providing the various needs and giving special health attention that are unique among elderly individuals. Nevertheless, these services are provided through the different branches of elder care, which include the following:
Adult Day Care
There are many misconceptions about adult day care. Family members who have elderly loved ones especially must understand that this is a structural health service supervising and giving the required care for elderly during the day. This branch of elder care delivers comfort and relief to family especially for those individuals who have work or need a rest day from giving the required needs of elderly. The benefit of adult care may showcase the elderly to maintain day to day activities, promote social interaction, undergo therapy, and at the end of the day, they can still go home to their family.
Nursing Homes
Nursing homes for the elderly offer complete care that include housekeeping, food preparation, health services, recreation, and social activities inside nursing homes for elderly people. Nursing homes hire certified and properly trained physicians, nurses, and medical assistants.
Assisted Living
This is another branch of elder care that offers a great opportunity for elderly to live independently with the advantage of being assisted with their daily activities and needs. Majority of elder care facilities are giving services such as housekeeping and transportation. Elderly individuals under assisted living interact through social activities and planned outings done by the elder care facilities. Here, the elderly are not entirely dependent on others for their personal grooming, bathing, and most other daily activities. If the elderly have walk-in baths installed in their homes, then they can still give themselves a bath with the assigned professional merely assisting them with their other needs. There are some facilities that provide basic health care services, which will be covered by assigned personnel to conduct home visits from time to time.
In-House Care
In-house care takes place in the elderly individual’s respective home. This branch offers the assistance of caregivers or certified medical professionals that are responsible to aid and assist the elderly in terms of medication, therapy, and monitoring. They are also reliable to conduct light housekeeping and companionship to assist with elderly daily activities such as bathing, toileting, and personal grooming. In short, the in-house medical professional is assigned to live inside with the elderly patient temporarily.
Elder Care Consideration
Elder care is not only based on giving the required care the elderly needs but also making sure to safeguard the elderly against neglect and abuse. Although this case may be rare, two out 10 elder individuals are currently experiencing abuse and neglect from other caregiver or worse, their own family. Growing old is inevitable, but it is possible to make the twilight years of the elderly more meaningful by not taking their freedom away from them. This may be done by exploring the benefits of elder care.