Three out of ten women 65 or older live alone. Your mom is one of them. Should you be worried about her being isolated and lonely?
Living alone doesn’t have to mean being alone. If you haven’t looked into companion care at home for your mom, it’s due time.
What Companion Care Aides Can Do
If you’re not familiar with companion care services, it covers a variety of needs. Make sure your mom has a professional caregiver stopping by each day, a few times a week, or once a week. You’ll decide the best schedule when you arrange services.
During those visits, the caregiver can help your mom with household chores like vacuuming, dusting, washing dishes, and sanitizing surfaces. The caregiver can sweep floors, take out the trash and recyclables, and water plants.
If your mom needs help doing her laundry, her caregiver can sort dirty clothes, sheets, and towels and wash them. Once washed, they are dried, ironed if needed, and folded. Her caregiver can put clean clothes, towels, and sheets away. Your mom’s caregiver can also make her bed with clean sheets.
Your mom may need someone to take her to appointments. Her caregiver can schedule doctor’s check-ups, cleanings with the dentist, and haircuts. If your mom needs to have her vision checked, that’s another appointment her caregiver can schedule.
On appointment days, the caregiver helps your mom get ready and out the door on time. Your mom has a ride to the office or clinic. Her caregiver can wait for her in the waiting room and bring her back home.
Does your mom have errands to run? Is she trying to stay engaged in the community? Have a caregiver join your mom on shopping trips, errands at area pharmacies and post offices, and social activities at area museums, libraries, and parks.
While your mom benefits by having a caregiver around, you do, too. You know that someone is stopping by to talk to your mom. That caregiver will alert you to possible issues with your mom’s heat or air conditioning not working.
Your mom loves to craft, but she needs a little help getting set up. Her caregiver can assist her or join her. The home care aide can play cards or board games and help your mom do a jigsaw. Your mom stays active and engaged.
What Are the Next Steps?
You’re convinced the time is right for companion care services. What do you do next? Start by making a call or filling out an online form to learn more about home care options. As you work through the list of home care services, build a care plan that matches your mom’s needs.
Your mom can live alone without having to be alone. She has caregivers stopping by to see how she’s doing, keep her engaged in the community, and help out with housekeeping and other household chores. Call a companion care at home specialist to get started.
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