Companion care is one of the most popular senior care services offered by home care agencies. Everyone in your family can benefit when you hire a senior care specialist to spend time with your senior loved one on a daily or weekly basis to boost their quality of life.
Elderly companion care can be a standalone service or you can add on any other personal care services to help with daily living. Read on for five top reasons why you might get elderly companion care for you or a loved one.
1. Peace of Mind and Senior Independence
Peace of mind may be the greatest benefit offered by elderly companion care, especially if you’re at the beginning of your in-home caregiving journey and are yet to choose a senior care service provider.
At this stage, you and your family members may feel anxious, afraid, or stressed. Older people often face the challenge of increasing physical limitations while also wishing to maintain an independent lifestyle. It can be hard to accept the need for assistance.
Before you enlist outside support you may feel worried about:
- Safety
- Nourishment
- Getting around town securely and without risk to oneself or others
- Stability
- Accessibility around the home
Fortunately, working with a senior companion is a win-win solution. Well-trained caregivers can check in on your preferred schedule and will be sure to:
- Keep seniors company and engage in their preferred activities.
- Communicate consistently with a designated family member and the agency regarding the wellbeing of your loved one.
- Report any red flags that would go unnoticed without the regular attention from a family member or other caregiver.
Another benefit is that it’s just a quick step to enlist more home care services as you need.
2. Regular Social Engagement
The University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging found that “chronic loneliness can impact older adults’ memory, physical well-being, mental health, and life expectancy.” This is why many people choose elderly companion care simply for social engagement.
Elderly companion care is beneficial in these common scenarios:
- Family members live far away or are busy.
- Senior friends are no longer able to visit as much as they used to.
- Your loved one can no longer drive or has declined mobility, so it’s difficult for them to independently attend social activities, religious or spiritual services, and other events.
Companion care services can bridge that gap and offer social engagement and human connection. You can relax knowing someone will stop by and provide emotional support or take your loved one out for the day – so they’re not at risk of being socially isolated and lonely.
3. Personalized Attention, Conversation, and Activities
While assisted living and nursing home facilities do their best to meet the individual needs of their residents, the majority of care is designed and oriented for “the median population.” But what if your senior loved one doesn’t fit into the standard group?
When you hire a companion for your loved one, we’ll do our best to match them with companions who have complementary temperaments, personalities, and life interests. This creates a more natural and genuine bonding process, and both individuals benefit.
You and your family take the lead and the companion follows in terms of the types of activities that take place. You can enjoy common companion services including:
- Reviewing the daily news
- Reading through favorite magazines or literature
- Going to or streaming movies and TV shows
- Playing games, working on crossword puzzles, Sudoku, word searches, trivia, and other brain/memory stimulating activities
- Listening (and/or dancing) to music
- Engaging in favorite hobbies such as arts/crafts, gardening, playing music, scrapbooking, handwork, etc.
- Taking walks or exercising together
- Looking through scrapbooks and photo albums and sharing personal stories
- Sharing a meal or dining out at favorite restaurants
- Visiting friends
- Attending special events
Our caregivers and companions take great care to respect your needs, interests, and wishes, and we’ll come up with a care plan that keeps everyone happy.
4. Elderly Companion Care Is Affordable
Senior care comes at a price, and that price is determined by the type of care you choose. Home care options are notably more affordable than facility-based care options like nursing homes or assisted-living facilities.
For many families, the most cost-efficient option is to start with companion care then increase personal care services as needed – instead of making an abrupt transition into facility-based care before it’s required.
Read The Cost of In-Home Care For Elderly Family Members for more information.
5. Evolving, Responsive, and Client-Driven Support
In an era when so many seniors live many miles from their nearest relatives, it can be stressful if your senior loved one has no one to contact during a crisis.
Having a nearby emergency contact is essential for senior health and safety. This is exactly the role that your companion and home care agency will serve. We will augment and upgrade personalized support as needed and in response to your loved one’s evolving needs.
Here are a few questions you and your family can ask when deciding on care:
- Is your loved one recovering from an illness or recuperating from a hospital stay?
- Would it be helpful for the companion shift to include light laundry and housekeeping?
- Due to memory loss or physical disabilities, is your loved one no longer able to bathe, dress, or change themselves without assistance?
In addition to socialization and human connection, your loved one’s needs drive the evolution of their in-home care. You can sign up for personal care services such as hygiene and mobility assistance as well as light housekeeping or grocery shopping.
We can also help reorganize your loved one’s main living spaces to remain safer and more accessible and provide transportation support to run errands and more.
Next Steps: Deciding When to Get Elderly Companion Care
There are many benefits to home companion care but maybe you’re not sure if now is the right time to enlist the service for you or your senior loved one. So the first question you can ask yourself is, Do you expect your loved one to need more assistance as time goes by? If you answer yes, then now is a great time to establish a relationship with a qualified agency so you can ease into receiving other non-medical home care services as you need. It’s better to have everything ready to go ahead of time instead of looking for care during a potential crisis.