Do you or your loved one struggle to complete daily tasks, such as bathing and dressing? Do you think you or your parent or loved one could greatly benefit from a daily helping hand? Or are you a caregiver starting to feel a little overwhelmed with daily care? If so, you or your loved one might be a great candidate for personal care services.
Personal care services are home care services provided by a personal care aide. Many who receive these services greatly benefit — both financially and mentally — from the additional help; many times, it allows them to stay at home rather than enter a care facility. Personal care services offer support that goes a long way toward helping you or your loved one stay independent.
What services are included with personal care?
As our loved ones get older, it may be harder for them to keep up with daily routines and continue to live independently. Providing personal care assistance with everyday tasks is also known as ADL services. These everyday activities usually include:
- Dressing – Helping the individual change clothing to maintain health and hygiene.
- Grooming – Providing assistance with bathing, combing hair, and other personal hygiene activities.
- Eating – Preparing healthy meals and monitoring a healthy diet for the individual.
- Mobility Transfers – Helping the individual safely move from one location to another, such as assistance getting out of bed or into the bathroom.
- Toilet Hygiene – Providing assistance to and from the toilet while assisting with toilet hygiene, if necessary.
- Housekeeping – Assisting with light housekeeping services such as cleaning and maintaining healthy living conditions.
- Transportation – Helping the individual with any transportation needs, assisting them with running errands, and helping them use public transportation.
- Laundry – Helping to sort, wash, fold, and put away laundry.
- Medications – Providing assistance with medication management and reminders.
- Companionship – Offering one-on-one companionship for emotional support, socialization, and interpersonal interaction.
- Respite for Family Caregivers – Respite relieves unpaid primary care providers, like family members, allowing them to have a physical and emotional break.
- Developing a Light Exercise Program – Caregivers develop and assist the patient in staying mobile with a light exercise program.
Do nurses provide personal care?
The majority of personal care services do not require the skills of a registered nurse. However, there are certain instances where a nurse is required to provide care. These instances include the initial assessment for services, filling a weekly pill box, verifying correct dosages of medications, and providing vital checks. Our personal care aides are also in constant communication with our nursing staff and can help provide a smooth transition to more clinically complicated patient management provided under our home care services.
What are the benefits of personal care?
As you can imagine, there are many benefits of personal care. If you or your loved one is considering signing up for this service, you may wonder how it can benefit you. Here are some of the benefits of personal care services:
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Independence
Home assistance provides you or your loved one with the maximum amount of independence possible. We understand that making the transition from home to a nursing facility can be difficult, and we’re here to help prolong that decision as long as possible. Keeping clients independent in their homes is our primary goal at Active.
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Comfortable and clean living
Maintaining a home is a lot of work, and it gets harder for our loved ones as they age, especially if they deal with mobility issues. Receiving personal care services allows your loved one to have assistance in their home, providing someone to help keep the space clean and tidy.
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Patient dignity
Having the needs of your loved one met allows them to have a better sense of pride in themselves. This results in a positive self-image and an increased sense of dignity.
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Quality of life
Private duty nursing provides quality of life by promoting safety, physical health, and mental health. You or your loved one can stay in the comfort of your home while maintaining an independent quality of life.
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Safety
Caregivers are trained to monitor their patients, lessening the risk of potential accidents to your loved ones. They help to ensure physical health, mental health, and safety. Because elderly patients are prone to falls, our personal care aides help increase safe mobility and assist with proper medication administration, decreasing the risk of medication errors.
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Individual attention
Instead of being in a health care facility where patients’ needs are divided amongst the staff, you or your loved one will receive individual, one-on-one attention in the privacy and comfort of their own home. Patients who have personal care services receive more private, personalized attention and care.
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Overall satisfaction of life
Having a helping hand around the house improves the overall satisfaction of life for you or your loved one. Receiving personalized care when you or your loved one needs it will increase happiness and overall satisfaction with life.
How do my parents or I qualify for personal care services?
Once the decision has been made to receive personal care services, qualifying is as easy as making a phone call. Unlike home care services which require an order from a doctor and proven clinical complications, personal care services can be provided at any time for any reason.
After placing a phone call, our staff will send out a team member to do a personal in-home consultation and assessment. They will talk with you about what needs you or your loved one have and what services we can provide. From there, we will build out a custom care plan, tailored to you or your loved one’s needs.
How much does personal care cost?
We bill personal care services based on the hours, and the cost will depend on the number of hours needed, the time of day the services are being provided, and who will be providing the care. To give you an accurate quote of the cost of personal care, we can arrange a free, in-home consultation and assessment to set up a plan of care and give you a quote of the cost of care based on the individual’s needs. Personal care costs may be covered by a variety of long-term insurance plans. However, most personal care is paid for privately by the client or a loved one.
Active Personal Care provides help for every individual’s needs
We understand that daily life becomes more difficult as you age, and it can be even harder if you don’t have assistance. At Active Home Health, Hospice & Personal Care, we offer a variety of compassionate care plans designed for any stage of life. With over 35 years of combined healthcare experience in Utah, we are the team to trust for all of your personal care, home health or hospice needs. Call us today to schedule your free in-home consultation and assessment.
