Hiring an in-home or live-in caregiver is the best option to improve the quality of life of your aging loved ones. You can achieve peace of mind knowing that they are closely being taken care of by professionals who are equipped with the right skills, knowledge, and experience about senior caregiving. This is especially true when you partner with a reliable and competent home care provider like Alexis Compassionate Care Home Care Agency which is operating in Los Angeles and Ventura County. But, as a family member, you need to understand that providing care to your aging loved one requires teamwork between you and the caregiver.
FAMILY AS CAREGIVERS
It is a fact that in-home caregivers work full-time but there will always be occasions when they need to be somewhere else thus, be absent. For instances like this, you can opt to respite caregiving and employ a temporary caregiver as a relief for the former’s absence. But, if the absence would only take a week or two, you can serve as the caregiver’s replacement. Doing so can also save time and trouble of looking for a respite caregiver. Making yourself knowledgeable about basic caregiving tasks can come in very handy during these situations. In this blog, we have listed the basic tasks that you as a family member should be familiarized with.
BASIC CAREGIVING TASKS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS
- Planning
It is very important to create and prepare care plans to ensure that all the needs of your elder are given properly and on time. Consult this plan with your doctor and caregiver. Having a written or printed out copy or even a plotted calendar will be of great help.
- Medical
For this, you need to work closely with a physician. You should make sure that all medical appointments will be attended and all medications are correctly taken. Handling medical paperwork such as health insurance and billing is also part of this task.
- Personal Care and Hygiene
Older people tend to have more difficulty in performing daily personal tasks that include hygiene. Given its importance, you should provide them assistance to make sure that all these tasks are completed. Tasks include bathing, brushing, using the toilet, changing clothes, etc.
- Meal Preparation
This task revolves around maintaining a healthy diet for your seniors. The task includes the preparation of nutritious meals and will also extend to grocery shopping. You should also make sure that the diet plan is compatible with current medications and the overall care plan of the elder.
- Housekeeping
This includes general cleaning of the house—freeing it from clutter, washing dishes, and doing the laundry. This will help in keeping the environment clean and healthy, as well as to prevent accidents.
- Mobility and Transportation Assistance
Helping your loved one move around the house and driving them to other places is what comprises this task. You should assist them to avoid the risk of falls and help them safely arrive at their destinations.
- Monitoring and Reporting
You should closely observe your elderly and look for sudden or irregular changes in eating habits, moods, and other things that involve the state of their physical and mental health. You should keep a monitoring sheet and regularly check it with your doctor.
These are the tasks that you and other family members should practice to ensure wellness for your elderly. You can divide the tasks depending on each of your strengths and weaknesses. Having a skilled and dedicated senior caregiver like the ones from Alexis Compassionate Care Home Care Agency can help you master these tasks better. Observe how they do it and put it into practice. Feel free to ask questions and have discussions with them to make your loved one’s journey through old age a lot easier. For questions and inquiries, feel free to call us at 1800-418-8576.