Senior home care offers a wide range of different types of help to aging adults, but that doesn’t mean that they’re excited about the idea right out of the gate. Sometimes seniors need time and additional support in deciding that this is truly something that they’re ready to try out. Or that it’s even something that they need at all. These ideas can help make the process easier for everyone involved.
Keep Seniors in the Loop
No one enjoys feeling as if their life is out of their control and they have no say in what happens. That is even more accurate for aging adults. They’ve spent the majority of their lives making decisions about what happens in their lives, and suddenly they fear that they’re going to be overruled constantly. Understanding that they are still in charge and that they can still make these decisions is important for them to feel secure about home care.
Plan Ahead and Be Prepared
Planning ahead is always a good idea, but it can feel more complicated when talking about caring for seniors. Understanding seniors’ needs and challenges helps map out what might happen next. It’s also good to have information from healthcare professionals about how things are expected to change in the near future. All of this information helps in creating an accurate plan.
Offer Reassurance
It’s normal to experience fear and apprehension when talking about big changes. It can help a lot for seniors to have reassurance from the people they love about how this is all going to go. Addressing concerns with empathy and compassion is a great way to boost confidence that having some extra help is the right way to go.
Focus on Comfort
Changes to daily routines are difficult and sometimes overwhelming, especially for seniors. Working on ways to maintain existing routines with the help of senior home care providers can be a good start. Seniors should feel as if this help adds to their lives rather than taking away or infringing.
Introduce Senior Home Care Gradually
With that in mind, it can help to introduce elder care services gradually. Instead of jumping in with full days, shorter visits with a defined goal might be more helpful. This gives seniors a chance to test out home care and see how it can work for them.
Monitor and Adjust
As always when making changes that affect seniors at home, monitor and adjust as necessary. What’s working well? What could use some adjustments? Talk with seniors about what they think is going well, too. Keeping their feelings in mind helps to make this a positive process instead of something they are forced to just deal with because they’ve been told it’s necessary.
Change and accepting help are both tough to do. For seniors who have been self-sufficient for a long time, senior home care can feel intimidating. But making changes on a slower timetable and focusing on how aging adults feel along the way can make the situation easier to accept overall.
Reference
https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/features/ask-the-expert
If you or an aging loved one is considering senior home care in Minnetonka, MN and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.
