Do you have a senior loved one that needs care and attention? Understandably, it can feel a bit overwhelming just thinking of how to take care of them while balancing it with our time. Also, with the way things are in the healthcare sector, entrusting our loved ones to the system can be a bit risky as the environment isn’t always the best place to leave a senior.
This is where exploring senior home care services is very important. But with so many options out there to choose from, it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed. In Canada there are more than 2000 assisted living homes, with over 600 in Ontario alone. That’s why it’s important to know what to look out for when choosing the right senior home care services. Below are 5 tips needed to find the right senior home care services for your loved ones.
Ask the Right Questions
The first thing you want to do when you identify the service you may be looking to employ is to ask them the right questions. Are they offering comprehensive care options? This is perhaps the singular most important question to ask.
This is because seniors often have a diverse set of healthcare and social service needs, so you need to look for a healthcare provider that provides a comprehensive range of healthcare professionals and also offers a wide range of services and advocacy.
Choice of Caring Professionals
Each person is unique and will require a personalized and custom approach to care, so it’s important that your senior home care service provider offers you a direct opportunity to interview, select, and hire the best kind of professionals that they may have to offer.
You don’t want just anyone to be in charge of taking care of your loved ones. They need to be the right professional that can meet your current needs. Also, the senior home care service you are looking to hire should be able to provide you with more than one healthcare professional to interview so that you can match their personalities with your loved one.
Inclusivity
Before settling for a particular senior home care service, you want to ensure that the service delivery options and outcomes actively involve and engage the family and the senior in their own care. This is because when family and seniors are included in the decision-making process, the delivery of healthcare outcomes is much better.
You want to ensure that they keep you involved and fully communicate with you. Ensure that you are allowed to actively take part in any decision-making process if not, then that may be a red flag telling you to move on to the next service.
Effective Communication
The healthcare service must also be very effective when it comes to communication. Because caring is often a team effort, effective communication between seniors, friends, family, and also healthcare professional teams is crucial for delivering quality care outcomes. You want to make sure that you’re very comfortable with the in-home service that you’re using.
Communication is key when delivering any kind of healthcare service and cannot be overemphasized. So if you’re not comfortable with a particular senior home care service, you may need to move on to one that you are more comfortable with. Be sure that you can freely speak your mind when you’re working with a care provider.
There are also lots of software tools out there that are available to in-home care services that can help with communication which can be incredibly helpful especially when you have different shifts coming on and there’s a need to be in constant communication with the caregiver. These tools are very helpful especially if you’re a working professional. So you may want to consider these before proceeding to hire a particular homecare service.
Coordinated Care
Do they have a coordinated care system? Before settling for a particular homecare service, ensure that they have very effective senior advocate care plans, care team, and care outcomes. They should offer effective tools, and resources to support you with the planning, budgeting, payment, and delivery of care for your loved one.
There are many things you may want to look out for before choosing a dedicated senior home care service, but the 5 tips listed in this article are some of the primary things you need to consider. If you need a committed agency dedicated to caring for your loved ones, don’t hesitate to contact us today!