This is a question that comes up frequently and even though we are a senior care referral agency – as in, a company that refers elders to senior care communities – our priority is seniors first. In other words, if you have a question, don’t be afraid to ask.
When is In-Home Care the Right Option
If you can afford it, in home care is always the right option! You can ask us, your friends, or colleagues, but even people who don’t know a thing or two about senior care would have to agree. If your parent can stay at home, let them!
Moving is stressful regardless of what age you are, so you can imagine that when you’re suffering from a chronic health condition or NEED senior care that it’s all the worse. It’s also partly why we do what we do. What is our mantra? Get it right the first time! You don’t want to move your elder more than once – if you have to move them at all.
Back on track.
So, yes, if you’re considering elder care, but you can afford in-home care, then go for it. The challenge is that in-home care is an hourly fee and when you tally the cost of that against the annual cost of a senior living community, you’ll find that in-home care is FAR more expensive.
The question becomes, is there a situation where in-home care is an option even if there aren’t finances in place?
Yes, in two cases:
1. If In-Home Care is in Addition to your Family
If you and/or your family is living with your elder and you’re seeking an in-home caregiver in your local area like Seattle or Bellevue, then that could easily work as the care is part-time. That can be affordable if done right and we can help you with that – no cost.
2. End-of-Life Care
As its name suggests, end-of-life care is another time where in-home care is a perfect option. We can best depict this with a story that happened in 2011.
A family came to our agency looking for help in a difficult time. Their mom had degenerative brain disease and was not expected to live much longer; it was time to make arrangements for mom’s end of life care.
We sat down with the family, at no cost to them, and explored the different senior living options Everett had to offer, including assisted living and hospice options for mom’s care. It was clear that they did not want her to spend her last days in the hospital as the children wanted her to be in a comfortable environment during her last days. Plus, once the children found out mom’s prognosis, they wanted to have a family member with her all the time and the hospital would not allow that, so they had suggested the family investigate assisted living or hospice care.
The family wasn’t sure where to begin and were emotionally exhausted from their mom’s illness. We sat down with the family and began exploring options.
We thought an Everett assisted living center wasn’t the best solution, and suggested they think about in-home care for their mom. Mom would be in familiar surroundings and the family would be much more comfortable.
The home health care nurse would care for mom’s medical needs, leaving the family free to say goodbye to mom. This family came to our agency unsure of how to meet their mom’s needs. What we helped them do is not only take care of their mother, but take care of themselves as well.
