Long-Term Home Care in South Burlington, VT
It is no surprise that the best place to recuperate after a hospital stay is at home. Even those who are unable to care for themselves can stay in the comfort of their home with the right care. Home care is compassionate care that ensures your loved one can continue to live their best life while maintaining their dignity, independence and comfort.
Do you live far away from your loved one? You are not alone. In this day, it is very common for family members to live great distances apart as our modern world allows for more opportunity all over the country and even the world. While this is great for our quality of life it can make caring for loved ones far away an especially difficult challenge. The best way to be prepared for the stress that comes with finding the right long-term care for your loved one is to plan ahead with your family about the options in your area.
TLC can help! Give us a call or chat with us if you answer no to any of these questions:
- Is my loved one able to live alone safely?
- Can they walk without help?
- Has their physical and/or emotional health been declining?
- Are they able to prepare nutritious daily meals?
- Are they able to shop for themselves?
- Are they able to manage their bills and financial responsibilities?
- Are they taking their medications on time?
- Are they still able to drive safely?
- Are they happy being alone for long periods of time?
- Are they able to dress & groom themselves?
- Are they able to eat themselves?
- Are they able to bathe or shower themselves?
- Are they able to keep their house neat and tidy?
The Best Way to Prepare is to Plan Ahead
It can be difficult to broach the subject of long-term care with your loved ones, especially those who are fiercely independent! They should know that their care and comfort is of utmost importance to you. You can begin by making the following preparations and including your loved one in the process:
- Discuss future care needs with your loved one and family members.
- Prepare any legal and medical documents that may be needed in case of an emergency.
- Form a local contact list of their medical professionals, hospitals, pharmacies and other medical facilities they may need.
- Consider working with a local geriatric manager or certified care manager.
- Contact all other support systems such as family members, friends and neighbors already in place.
Establishing and maintaining relationships provides stability and a comfort zone within the family and with your loved one. Questions about any of the tasks above? Not sure where to start? TLC HomeCare Nursing Case Management can help with any of the above tasks.
Institutional Facilities vs. Home Care
Although a nursing home or retirement home might be the only appropriate option available for a certain level of care, most people would like to see their loved ones stay in the comfort of their own home. This is because it is proven that seniors tend to thrive more when they can remain in familiar surroundings, within their community and established support systems.
source: https://www.visitingangels.com/pdfs/LongDistCGng.pdf
How Do I Choose a Home Care Agency?
- Basic homemaker services
- Personal care services (assistance with dressing, bathing, hygiene needs, etc.)
- Bonded, insured and licensed
- Complies with HIPAA
- Experienced and professionally screened caregivers (including conducting a criminal background check, skills testing, and physical health screening)
- You or your loved one should be able to meet with the caregiver before you agree to services
- Incorporates 1:1 training with caregivers by a nurse
- Has supervisory visits to maintain professional care from caregivers taking care of your loved one
- Allows you to give feedback every month about your loved one’s care
- Has schedulers that are at the ready to help with last-minute shifts and unforeseeable changes
- Holds the reliability of caregivers at the utmost importance and is committed to providing outstanding care for your loved one
- Mandates continuing education for its caregivers
- Skills tests and trains their caregivers
- Provides 24/7 support for both the client and their staff
TLC HomeCare is committed to the highest level of care. We meet all of the above basic criteria and provide so much more!
How Do We Afford the Care They Need?
Being non-medical, home care services are currently are not covered by Medicare. It is generally paid individually or by long term care insurance. Often, funds are available from associations for care for their members who are afflicted with a specific disease. An excellent resource is a reverse mortgage. It allows your loved one access to funds from their home equity without touching their income-producing investments. Veterans and their spouses may qualify for the Disability Pension for Aid and Attendance which provides funds for in-home care.