Elderly Home Care Services and Senior Care Management go hand in hand. For the first, it is a way to keep the elderly staying in the comfort of their home and gaining or stabilizing their independence. It can also be a preventative measure to keep them from a trip back to the ER or hospital due to a fall or other issue. With the latter, it is about how that very service is maintained at the highest standard for the person receiving the care. Elderly home care services can seem to be as simple as toileting or dressing assistance. In truth it actually consists of everything from medication management, transportation, companionship, and housekeeping. Senior Care Management can be glimpsed as merely managing senior care as its name states but it can also be much more. It can involve a wide range of long term care policy investments before the age of 65, proper renovations to make a home suited for a person’s physical impairments, and the oversight of care by a home care company.
Why Elderly Home Care Services?
Since elderly home care services came onto the scene as a professional service in the 80’s, its benefits have expanded over time but the purpose of having care has maintained its core goal. Home care for the elderly is about helping someone gain or maintain their independence. It is our goal to keep the elderly in their home surroundings. This can be their private residence or a senior living community. Through caregivers that provide light housekeeping, transportation for errands or appointments, and assistance with activities of daily living home care promotes eventual independence while aiding in the recovery process of health.
How Are Elderly Home Care Services Covered?
While private duty home care is generally perceived as being private pay, there are various ways for it to be covered. Depending on the state you reside in, there are waiver programs for Medicaid and Medicare that can be utilized in most states including Michigan. If you invested in an LTC policy (long term care insurance) before the age of 65, you can utilize that policy when you need it after the age of 65. Various organizations like ALS and MDA also provide disease specific authorizations for Lou Gehrig’s disease or muscular dystrophy. If you don’t qualify by income or family criteria for these methods of coverage, then private pay is an option.
What is Senior Care Management?
Managing a person’s care can be a number of things. Having grab bars, a shower bench, or wall rails installed to prevent falls are excellent examples typically done by senior home renovation companies. Another way is utilizing and exhausting all insurance or state funded options before paying privately. The main way Senior Care Management is defined is through oversight by a qualified home care company that delivers nothing less than the highest standard. This consists of having an agency oversee the care done through scheduled shifts and continuity of caregivers coming to the home. It also involves clock in and out systems for budget preservation. Most importantly it is about sending qualified staff not just based on experience with a client’s particular condition but on the basis of passing a thorough screening. These screenings are composed of background checks, skill competencies, reference checks and more.