As people grow older, their bodies start to develop complications. For the majority of these complications, there is a medication that will either fix the problems or at least alleviate the symptoms. If you look in the medicine cabinet of a 30 year old person, it may contain a couple of over the counter medications such as aspirin. If you look in the medicine cabinet of a senior, you will more than likely see a different story altogether.
Seniors typically take more medication for problems such as elevated blood pressure and cholesterol issues as well as many other conditions. It is also normal to see medications for pain management as a person ages. Family members sometimes have to make the difficult and painful decision to move their loved ones into an assisted living facility when they are no longer able to manage their own medications. Sometimes, this is the only reason they must change their residences.
There are other alternatives which will leave both the senior as well as the immediate family feeling much better. A home care companion is a trained professional who routinely comes into the senior’s home to assist with duties that the senior can no longer do on his or her own. These duties can include cleaning, cooking and helping the senior with activities and errands outside the home.
One of the most valuable duties that a home care companion can assist in is medication reminders. If a senior takes medication twice a day, a home care companion can be there to make sure the senior remembers to take exactly what has been prescribed. Another benefit to having a home care companion assist a senior in this way is to help manage pharmacy refills. Some seniors may forget to call the pharmacy or the doctor for a refill, but a home care companion monitors every prescription to ensure that not even one dose is missed.
If the senior needs to go to the doctor before a refill can be given, a home care companion can also assist with this duty. This allows family members to have peace of mind in knowing that their loved one is being taken care of. Rather than juggling schedules to ensure that someone is at the senior’s home every time a medication must be taken, family members can now spend quality time with their loved one at a time that is convenient for everyone.
Home care counselors at Safe at Home Healthcare are available to talk with you about your home care needs including how to reduce caregiver stress while providing better, affordable care, including live-in care. We are an elder care agency providing home care in Naperville, IL. For more information about home care call us at (888) 703-5287.