The Benefits of Homecare During the COVID19 Pandemic

“I won’t hire a caregiver because I’m afraid they will infect my loved one, or me, with the virus.” That is the number one and most valid concern we all have today. We hear you. We completely understand. Here’s how we can help.

Benefit #1: Virus Prevention in the Home

The best way to stay healthy is to prevent exposure to the virus. Homecare allows for complete environmental control in and around the home. In-home care with our Visiting Angels caregivers can be safely conducted starting with the hygiene practices and precautions our caregivers take before they even enter your home. The Center for Disease Control has issued guidelines to prevent transmission of the virus. Caregivers follow these guidelines to ensure the safety of all involved. Strategies for virus prevention in the home include:

• Wearing a mask or cloth covering over the nose and mouth prior to entry and during the stay in the home. If safe, and in an abundance of caution, the senior may also be able to temporarily wear a covering if they/the family choose.
• Handwashing and/or the application of hand sanitizer before entry into the home and throughout care.
• Changing shoes upon entry from outdoor shoes to indoor only shoes so as to not potentially track the virus into the home.
• Limiting items brought in from outside the home. Necessary items are sanitized before entry.
• Checking temperature before entry into the home to confirm no fever is present.
• Caregiver remains at least 6 feet apart as much as reasonably possible.

Once safely inside the home, caregivers can play an important role with ensuring proper hygiene within the home for both the client and the home itself. For example, the caregiver can complete active disinfecting of the home including doorknobs, light switches, phones, counters, remote controls, faucets, toilet handles, floors, incoming grocery deliveries and mail. In addition, the personal hygiene of the client is of paramount importance. The caregiver can assist with facilitating routine, frequent and thorough handwashing, bathing assistance and clothes washing.

Benefit #2: Preventing an Admission to the Hospital

As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Our caregivers can help prevent a trip to the hospital to minimize exposure to the virus. Homecare can provide that peace of mind in several ways such as:

• Implement fall reduction strategies to reduce the risk of falls in the client's home
• Provide medication reminders to reduce the risk of missed doses.
• Ensuring proper nutrition and hydration.
• Proper hygiene to prevent to reduce risk of conditions such as urinary tract infections or wounds.
• Enlist and facilitate telemedicine support if needed to prevent hospital admission.

All in all, home is the safest place to be at this time.

Benefit #3: Emotional Support to Clients and Families

This pandemic has taken a toll on everybody, including our senior population and their families. Given these unprecedented circumstances, loneliness and isolation of our seniors is mounting. Homecare can provide an antidote by providing in-person companionship and facilitating remote interaction with family through the use of technology. Your senior loved one can stay connected to a caregiver from near and connected to family from afar.

Homecare can also ensure your loved one is receiving the physical and emotional support they need. Activities can be joyful and maintain health, including taking walks, gardening, putting golf balls, playing cards, listening to music from “back in the day” and looking at photographs. This stimulation can prevent disease and decline while boosting the immune system. For many, maintaining daily routine is important as well.

In addition to caring for the senior, family caregiver support is important now more than ever. Given this pandemic, many people are tasked with homeschooling their children and working from home all while providing care to a senior loved one. Homecare can provide respite from caregiving responsibilities and prevent fatigue of hands-on family helpers.

There is no place like home. Now is the most important time for reinforcements to arrive, both for the client and family caregivers. In-home care is the key to maximizing household and client hygiene, including having complete control over the environment from who enters it, what enters it and for how long. Homecare offers maximal ability to prevent a hospitalization which could potentially expose your loved one to the virus. Our caregivers provide careful yet additional human connection for both senior clients and families during this unprecedented time of quarantine and social distancing.

If you're interested in more information about how in-home can help your elderly loved ones, visit our website today or call 440-974-0869 to arrange a free consultation.