January
When we think of the word “companion,” we think of a friend or someone who walks through life with us. A companion helps us in our needs. Companionship is social in nature. Companions talk to us, cook dinner with us, and watch TV with us, read to us, or play cards with us.
These are things seniors and all citizens need the most. Many seniors have lost a spouse, have regular feelings of loniness and/or anxiety. Their children or families work and have families of their own, so they might not get by to see Mom or Dad for days or a few weeks. Some seniors have outlived their siblings and friends. They’re lonely and feel forgotten or ignored. Companion care supports this most basic of human needs and promotes positive mental health in the aging community.
When an agency sends a home health aide to a senior’s home, the aide helps the senior bathe, dress, take their medications, and could perform light duties like switching out the bed linens for clean ones.
Some home health care aides help the senior with housekeeping, cooking, running errands, and taking the senior to a doctor. They may spend between two to four hours helping with these things, and then the aide moves on to his or her next client.
Companion care means just that; the companion will spend time with the senior talking or helping the senior with his or her daily routine. They’ll take the senior to the doctor, to the grocery store, or to a department store to shop.
The companion will assist the senior with tasks such as paying his or her bills or picking up their prescriptions and dry cleaning, and maybe even get lunch. The difference between the two is the quality of the time spent with the senior.
Companions come in different types just like home health care does. For example, a live-in companion would do just that. The senior would have someone with them 24/7 for companionship with all its benefits.
In-home companion care schedules someone to visit the senior to help with whatever the senior needs and spend time with the senior. The time can be spent during the day or at night or even overnight if the senior needs help.
It’s totally up to the senior what a companion can do for them. The job encompasses:
Above all things, seniors value their independence. Seniors recognize that their bodies can’t perform like they did in youth, but living in a “home”, or know as an adult facility, strips them of all dignity and desire to be independent. Seniors will opt to make choices that will facilitate them to stay at home. Companion care helps seniors do just that with dignity and compassion.
The loneliness and isolation many seniors feel as they age change their minds from normally functioning to depressed. Dealing with loneliness or Depression may lead seniors to search for medicinal fixes but all do not prefer to add more potential medication to their daily regime.
Companion care gives seniors the social interaction they need to battle the loneliness and isolation of age. The depression is lifted with the company of someone who listens, talks, and laughs with seniors.
Physical fitness is vital at any age, but it’s especially vital in advancing age. Mobility, flexibility, and strength are areas in which most seniors need help. Thanks to imminent doctors on the Internet, seniors are now aware of the benefits of even the mildest fitness routines.
Companion care won’t push a senior to become or remain fit, but they’ll be there to appropriately work out with the senior.
Your local and state Agency on Aging provides contacts for home health services like home care or hospice care. For companion care, please contact Quality Health Care Concierge at 888-981-5595 to learn how we can be of service to your senior loved one.
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Disclaimer: Products on this website or other marketing material are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Please discuss with your Doctor prior.
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