Parent Care Blog
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More Than a Job: Why Your Home Health Care Agency Must Value Every Individual

Across the United States, over 4.5 million people are receiving home health care, and the number is growing every year. Many elderly or disabled patients prefer to stay in their own house or apartment instead of moving to a residential home. Here in New York, there are great home health care agencies that deliver personalized care to residents in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx.

Every patient and every family has different needs, so it’s crucial that your aide and the agency they work for are flexible and accommodating. When you sign up with Parent Care, you will be asked to attend a meeting, during which we can discuss the patient and their requirements. That way, we make sure that their individual needs are met and that they can enjoy their golden years to the maximum.

Why Must New York Home Health Care Agencies Provide Individualized Care? 

There are certain standards of care that have to be upheld by all caregivers. But just because there are strict regulations doesn’t mean the care provided to each patient can’t be individualized. In fact, it is essential for the wellbeing of elderly or disabled people that aides and medical professionals take their patients’ unique circumstances into consideration when interacting with them.

Nursing homes are often understaffed, so it can be hard to cater to each individual. For this reason, many families decide to care for their loved ones at home with the help of a health aide who comes in every day and completes necessary tasks for the patient. Your aide will tailor their services to your friend or relative’s physical and emotional needs and make sure the whole family is supported.

Making Arrangements with the Whole Family 

As part of our service here at Parent Care, we offer Elder Care Planning. Our specialists can sit down with you and discuss your loved one’s situation, then figure out the best way to help them. We start by identifying the needs of the individual and the resources already present. For instance, you or other members of the family might be available to help on certain days.

Then, you and your specialist will draw up a personalized care plan, which determines what help is needed, who will provide it, and how care will be paid for. The consultant can help you research various options and providers, deal with insurance, and set up an organizational tool that keeps financial documents and medical paperwork in order. This can clarify the situation and take a lot of pressure off you.

Varying Physical Needs 

Many of our patients are frail and have conditions that require regular treatment. When you first contact us, our care specialists can visit your relative in their Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, or the Bronx home and assess what type of assistance they need. In some cases, the patient might need to work with an aide twice a day. This could be the case if they are unable to get dressed and undressed on their own.

Other patients are more mobile and only require one visit per day or every second day. They can still dress themselves and move around their home, but they need assistance with light housework tasks. We will arrange for our aides to visit your relative as frequently as necessary, and we will reassess the situation continually. if the patient’s needs change, we will notify the family and suggest an updated care schedule.

Varying Emotional Needs

Great home health care agencies don’t only consider a patient’s physical condition but also their emotional wellbeing. It’s important that elderly people enjoy their golden years and that they feel well cared for. That’s why we offer companion care for anyone who lives alone or would like some additional company throughout the week.

A companion is similar to an aide, but the main purpose of their visit is to provide the patient with emotional support and socialization. The companion might complete light housework tasks, play a game, read to your friend or relative, or go for a walk with them. This type of service often also includes transportation, so your companion might take the patient on an outing or to an appointment.

 

What Your Aide Will Do

On a daily or weekly basis, your loved one will be visited by their home health aide. This professional is trained to look after patients with mobility issues, conditions related to aging, and memory loss, and they can complete a wide range of tasks. In the morning, they may visit your loved one to help them get dressed and showered.

Your aide can also prepare nutritionally balanced meals and help the patient take their medicine correctly every day. When they come for their initial visit, the aide will assess the elderly or disabled person’s home to make sure it is suitable for their needs. If not, they will contact you and suggest some modifications, such as nonslip mats or handles.

A Special Type of Arrangement: CDPAP

Some of our patients prefer to be cared for by someone they know and trust. They can benefit from the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, CDPAP, which allows the patient or the person acting on their behalf to choose and train a caregiver. For instance, you, another member of your family, or a neighbor could take over the tasks of a health aide.

To qualify for CDPAP, the patient has to obtain a Physician’s Order for Services. We can help you with the necessary forms and paperwork related to setting up CDPAP. What’s more, when you collaborate with us, the work and payment of your loved one’s personal assistant will be processed through our system. You won’t have to worry about the reliability or accuracy of payments.

How Can You Find Out More about Services in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx? 

Now you know what home health services are and how the best agencies personalize the care your loved one receives, you might wonder how to find a good provider. Fortunately, all the information you need is already available online. You can not only find details about services but also about the care philosophy, which can give you a better idea of how well an agency caters to their patients’ needs.

Once you’ve found a service provider you like, you can get in touch with them and ask for an initial appointment. Here at Parent Care, we will meet with you and other family members to discuss the assistance you require. We then visit your relative’s home, where we can get a better idea of what level of care is appropriate and check whether any modifications to the house or apartment are necessary to make the patient’s life easier.

The Right Home Care Agency

Caring for an elderly or disabled loved one is extremely challenging, especially if they suffer from limited mobility or memory loss. Despite the challenges your friend or relative faces, they might not be willing to live in a care home. If you’d like to help them stay in their own house or apartment, you should work with leading New York home health care agencies that can cater to individual patients’ and their families’ needs.

During your initial meeting, you and the agency’s representatives will speak about the physical and emotional state of your relative and discuss what kind of help they need. You can then determine how often a home health aide should visit your loved one in their Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, or the Bronx home. Call or message us now at Parent Care to book your first appointment and learn how your family could benefit from individualized home health care.

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