Alzheimer’s Care at Home
Harmony Companion Home Care has been committed for almost a decade to serving and improving the lives of seniors, disabled, intellectual disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder individuals, and our Veterans through the Counties of Bucks, Berks, Chester, Delaware Lancaster, Montgomery, and Philadelphia. Our services share a common goal to improve and uphold the quality of life of your loved ones. We service anyone needing in-home care, from the elderly to mother’s helpers.
We believe that it is living that is important, not just being alive. Our goal is to help people live their lives as independently as possible by providing the extra help necessary to achieve that goal.
If you have a loved one with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, you may be wondering about the best way to care for them as their disease progresses.
Can you take care of them at home, or must you put them in a facility? Are there people who provide help with Alzheimer’s care at home? What’s included in dementia care at home services? How long can a person with Alzheimer’s live at home?
Here are some things you should know about Alzheimer’s and dementia care at home.
Can a Person With Alzheimer's Live at Home?
Yes. With the proper amount of supervision and care, a person with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia can live at home. As the disease progresses, they may need more and more assistance, but many people with Alzheimer’s may be able to live out their lives in place with dementia care at home.
How Do You Care for an Alzheimer's Patient at Home?
Caring for Alzheimer’s or dementia patients at home is about making sure they are safe and that their needs are being met. Your loved one may need assistance with bathing, feeding, dressing, toileting, and other activities of daily living. They may need help with light housekeeping or meal preparation. The patient may need supervision to prevent wandering or other dangerous behaviors, like leaving the stove on.
Another important part of caring for Alzheimer’s patients at home is providing companionship. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [1]:
“Loneliness and social isolation in older adults are serious public health risks affecting a significant number of people in the United States…Loneliness was associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide, [and] social isolation significantly increased a person’s risk of premature death from all causes, a risk that may rival those of smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity.”
What Is Alzheimer’s or Dementia Care at Home?
Dementia and Alzheimer’s care at home involves providing services that help people with memory issues live safely in their home or the home of a loved one. These services may be provided as little as a few hours a week while the primary caregiver runs errands or as much as 24-hours a day for people who may not have a local primary caregiver.
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Looking for in-home care in the Malvern, PA area? Learn more about our non-medical home care options including companionship, safety, meal preparation, and more.
Providing exceptional Alzheimer’s and Dementia Home Care for seniors and families in Chester County, Delaware County areas including; West Chester, Exton, Downingtown, Chester Springs, Malvern, Paoli, Media, and Villanova, PA.
It’s never too early to start dementia care at home for your loved one – it’s better to start services before your loved one hurts themselves or wanders away.
What Types of Services Are Included With Alzheimer’s Care at Home?
Typical services you may receive as part of Alzheimer’s care at home include:
- Wandering prevention
- Companionship and monitoring
- Meal planning and preparation
- Light housekeeping
- Laundry
- Toileting and bathing assistance
- Help with grooming and dressing
- Managing moments of anxiety, confusion, and anger
- Medication reminders
- Grocery shopping
- Prescription pickups
- Transportation and accompaniment to appointments
- Transfer and mobility assistance
How Long Can a Person With Alzheimer’s Disease Live at Home?
How Do I Know if My Loved One Needs Alzheimer’s Care at Home?
-Caring for Alzheimer’s or dementia patients at home is about making sure they are safe and that their needs are being met.
While it’s never too early to start dementia care at home for your loved one – it’s better to start services before your loved one hurts themselves or wanders away – here are some signs that your loved one would benefit from memory care at home [2].
Confusion and Disorientation That Puts Them at Risk
The disorientation and confusion associated with Alzheimer’s and dementia can put them at risk in a variety of ways. Your loved one could:
- Forget which pedal is the brake and which is the accelerator, leading to car accidents
- Wander away from home and get lost, possibly in bad weather
- Start cooking, then forget about it, potentially causing a fire
Changes in Behavior
Some people with Alzheimer’s start behaving differently, such as declining social invitations, forgetting daily hygiene, or becoming apprehensive about driving, which could indicate that they need assistance in their daily life.
Decline in Physical Health
Incontinence
Death or Deterioration of a Caregiver
When a person with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia loses their primary caregiver due to death, disability, or a decline in their physical or mental health, it may be time to bring in-home memory care assistance.
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What to Look for in an Agency That Provides Dementia Care at Home
While finding the perfect Alzheimer’s home care agency may seem like a daunting task, asking these questions can help you find the perfect fit [3]:
- Is your agency licensed?
- What background checks do you do on your caregivers?
- Are your caregivers insured and bonded?
- Do you screen your caregivers for contagious diseases?
- What educational requirements do you have for your caregivers?
- What’s the turnover rate for your caregivers?
- How do you supervise caregivers? Do nurses make supervision home visits? If so, how often?
- Can we interview potential caregivers? Do we have a say in who gets assigned to our family?
- Will we have the same caregiver each visit?
- How do you handle emergencies?
- What happens if our caregiver can’t come for a scheduled visit?
- How does the agency handle conflict, and what do I do if
- I have a complaint about a caregiver?
- What are the service agreement terms?
- Do you have references for your agency and for the caregiver we get?
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Loneliness and Social Isolation Linked to Serious Health Conditions, https://www.cdc.gov/aging/publications/features/lonely-older-adults.html
- Ruben Castaneda, U.S. News, 5 Signs It’s Time for Memory Care, https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/signs-its-time-for-memory-care
- WebMD, Help With in-Home Care for Someone With Alzheimer’s, https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/alzheimers-paid-home-care
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