According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida elders reported more than 2,500 cases of elder abuse during 2015 alone. Unfortunately, this trend doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon. Statistic Brain estimates that elders experience 2,151,000 cases of abuse per year which includes neglect, sexual abuse, physical abuse, financial exploitation, emotional abuse, and more. These abusers can appear in various types of settings including institutions, homes and hospital settings. For instance, a 70 year old woman whose daughter took care of her in Kentucky was being mistreated in her own home. The abused senior was only allowed to eat canned food, was verbally and physically abused by her daughter and treated in an inhumane manner. Once the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family services and law enforcement became aware of these atrocities, the senior was removed from the home and placed in a safe retirement setting. This senior was fortunate, but not every senior is as lucky and many experience misconduct and manhandling by care givers and hospital staff for years before they are helped. This type of trauma runs deep and is not pardonable and definitely not justified.
Seniors deserve attention, love, care and attention and it is paramount that loved ones provide them with adequate care whenever possible. The Nurses Guild is one such specialized caregiver institution. We pride ourselves in providing exceptional home health care throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties. We offer Medicare-certified services to support families and hold the seniors hands to walk them through their everyday lives. But before making a decision, let’s consider the pros and cons of this type of care. In this post, we’ll explain them in further detail. Let’s get started.
Home Care Pros
- Familiar surroundings can produce feelings of calm and a sense of control and inner peace. This is especially true in cases in which the senior has dementia, a chronic illness, mental illness, or other condition.
- At home, seniors are less likely to be abused and can receive quality care at home. By hiring a vetted and trained professional, the senior will be more likely to avoid elder abuse or become a victim of fraud.
- Quality home care can be a good choice for those on a budget. As net mentions, the nationwide costs for a nursing home in America is the most expensive option for seniors, followed by full-time home health care, and then the least expensive is home day care.
- Even when your family leaves to attend to their daily work and duties, your senior doesn’t have to feel lonely, helpless and depressed. You can also feel competent and secure because a qualified home health care professional is there to assist your loved one in their own home.
Home Care Cons
- It may be difficult to find people who will provide qualified assistance to your loved ones and it often takes time to find someone whom you can trust. However, quality facilities like Nurses Guild make the process easier. They have vetted professionals who are qualified to assist your senior 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They have strong educational backgrounds, professional experience and have undergone rigorous background checks.
- Home care can be more expensive than in-person care if 24 hour care or hospice care is required. com mentions that the average health care cost in the state of Florida, according to a survey published by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, accounts for $18 per hour. Therefore, it is important to evaluate your financial situation before making this decision.
- Unlike hospitals or assisted living centers, home care does not change the aspects of your home and make it senior friendly. So certain architectural adjustments may need to be done to make it safer for seniors. For instance, guard rails may need to be installed on beds, toilet seats may need to be raised, locks may need to be placed on doors, video monitoring may need to be added, etc.
Therefore, if you’re considering home health care, carefully weigh all the pros and cons and decide on a caregiver staff. Nurses Guild is here to support you and your senior through every phase of the transitional period.