Why Is Companion Care Important for Your Senior?
Companion care at home is a way for your elderly family member to have caring, compassionate support in various different ways. She may only need company at this stage of her life, but her needs are bound to change at some point, necessitating changes in the types of care she receives.
Reduces Social Isolation
Social isolation is a huge problem for aging adults. Often it begins because your elderly family member doesn’t have the same network of friends and family nearby that she used to have. She may also find that she’s less willing or able to leave the house as often as she did in the past, which can significantly reduce the number of people she encounters on a daily basis. All of this can lead to loneliness and to isolation, which in the long run can contribute to depression and even to physical health issues.
Ensures Your Senior Has Help
Having elderly care providers there with her ensures that if your senior does need help with specific tasks, it’s there for her. Accepting help can be difficult for some aging adult, which might make putting plans for assistance in place a little more difficult. Sometimes leaning on companionship instead of specifying that someone is there to help with household tasks or with personal care tasks can make help easier for your senior to accept.
Offers Respite Time for Family Caregivers
As your senior’s needs increase, the demands on your time and energy as a family caregiver also increase significantly. That means that something has to give at some point. Respite time ensures that you’re getting the time away that you need, but that your senior also isn’t left on her own for too long. Companion care at home can resolve any doubts that you have about being able to take the time away from caregiving that you need to take. Respite is a necessary and important part of protecting your own ability to continue to be a family caregiver for your senior.
Companion care at home can make a huge difference for your senior as well as for the rest of your family. If your elderly family member isn’t excited about the idea at first, offer a trial basis so that she can get a sense of what to expect. It’s possible that her fears are getting in the way of realizing what the benefits of this type of help could be.