One of the biggest benefits in my personal opinion to having a caregiver in the home is that they are able to monitor and report behavioral changes. This can be helpful for the client themselves and their families. Behavioral changes can be indicative of underlying new health conditions and can also come with the progression of a diagnosed condition like dementia. Our caregivers are trained to notice any behavioral changes like aggression, or irritability, or even changes like in their appetite or sleep schedule. They’ll report it to the office and then the office will talk to the client and/or their primary contact. Here are a few ways that this kind of service may benefit you and your family.
Doctor’s Visits
When you or your loved one goes to the doctor, the patient can ask their doctor about any changes that their caregiver noticed. Anyone else that communicates with the doctors on behalf of our clients can also use our caregivers’ observations. This will allow the doctor to answer any questions about and track the progress of any diagnosed conditions. The doctor may also be able to screen for certain conditions based on the behavioral changes noted by the caregiver. While our caregivers can not monitor medication side effects, if the caregiver notes that a client has sleep disruptions, the client, their family, and the doctor can together figure out if this change aligns with a new medication.
Peace of Mind for Family Members
When we have clients with conditions like dementia or Parkinson’s, or other serious conditions, it can be helpful to their family members to have a professional noting changes in their loved one. This is particularly helpful to out-of-town family members. Family members who live with or care for the client but who work during the day benefit as well.
A Fresh Set of Eyes
Family caregivers are great, and also notice behavioral changes in their loved ones. I am not trying to disparage family caregivers. However, it can be helpful for more than one person to be monitoring a client’s behavior. This way, one caregiver can notice things the other may have missed. They also can discuss if they are noticing the same changes.
I hope this post helps illuminate one benefit of our services. Have a great Labor Day!
