Elder care refers to the unique needs and requirements of senior citizens. This broad category covers such services as custodial care, adult daycare, long-term care, assisted living, home care, and respite care. The term “elder care” can also be used to refer to the “community elder care” provided by non-profit organizations and government agencies. There are many types of elder care in Dallas TX that fall under this broad category.
Custodial elder care occurs when a loved one, usually a spouse, parent, or other adult in the family is unable to live on their own and needs additional assistance. Some examples of custodial assistance could include housekeeping, cooking for an elderly family member, taking them to doctor appointments, shopping for groceries, driving, etc.
Some family members may actually provide the assistance themselves, rather than allowing the elder to retain an agency to assist them. Elderly individuals often turn to family and friends to help them with tasks such as these. However, sometimes the assistance required is too much for the family member to handle on their own, so they turn to an agency for extra assistance. Click here to know more.
Long term elder care is provided through an in-home caregiver program. In this case, there is an arrangement between a family member or friend and the caregiver. There are often several levels of care included with this arrangement, including, but not limited to, medical assistance, emotional support, bathing and dressing, medication reminders, transportation, caregiver therapy, use of medical equipment, etc. These two types of elder care are very different from each other and require slightly different methods of providing assistance.
Medical care can take several forms, including, but not limited to, hospital visits, specialized therapeutic care or surgical procedures. There are a number of circumstances where elderly individuals who have medical conditions may become unable to take care of themselves on their own and this requires specialized medical assistance. Often times, this requires having an advanced directive.
Another popular option in the field of elder care is in-home nursing. This is the most common type of service and it offers both medical and non-medical assistance. The basic premise of nursing homes is to provide highly trained and compassionate licensed personnel to provide non-medical assistance in the form of custodial and personal care for residents who cannot care for themselves.
An individual who becomes eligible for long-term care through Medicare can opt for in-home nursing services by showing a documented need for the services and showing that they will receive those services under the supervision of a licensed medical professional. Medicare does not pay for in-home nursing but some communities do reimburse the cost of this service.
