What is Elder Care?
Elder Care in Union County NJ: What is Elder Care?
If you are on this website it means that you probably have an aging parent or relative, and that they probably need extra care due to an illness or other medical condition. You have probably seen a lot of information, but you might not be quite sure what exactly you’re looking for. A good way to get started is to figure out what the different types of care are. In this article, we will be focusing on elder care.
Elder care can mean many things. It can mean the care provided by a family member for an aging relative, the care provided by the staff at a nursing home or other facility, or basically any care administered to an elderly person on a long-term basis. When you come across this term on the internet, though, it is usually synonymous with home care or senior care.
Home care, senior care, and elder care all refer to a service provided by an agency that helps to take care of an aging or otherwise incapacitated senior. Elder care aides help the senior to go about their daily lives and daily tasks, by helping them with things like getting dressed, bathing, using the bathroom, eating, cooking, and even cleaning the house.
Elder care aides can also help their charges to remember to take their medications. This can be very important for seniors with Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia or memory problems, because without their medications, their condition could become drastically worse.
However, it is important to note that elder care aides cannot actually administer medications themselves. If that is something that your loved one requires, you might need a home health care professional instead. Elder care aides are not registered nurses or medically certified, but they are very good at the things they do, and can be a huge help with your loved one’s daily tasks.
Knowing all of this information now, though, how do you know if elder care is right for your loved one? At the end of the day, that is up to you. But, if your loved one has mobility problems, memory problems, or vision and/or hearing problems, they may need a caregiver of some sort to assist them. You or another member of the family can be this caregiver, but you could also opt for an elder care aide, who has been specially trained to help with your loved one’s specific needs.
Sometimes hiring an elder care aide can be exactly what you need to have peace of mind, especially if your loved one lives alone. It is possible for a senior to maintain his or her independence and still live at home by hiring an elder care aide to come by every day and care for them. This may be more manageable than having them come live with you, and it will surely allow them to feel more independent for longer.
No matter what you decide to do though, make sure to discuss it with your loved one and the family. Elder care should be a decision you all make together.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional elder care in Union County, NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today. Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.
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