Chula Vista, CA (PRWEB) March 26, 2012
Firstat Nursing Services, a home health agency in San Diego, providing home nursing services has recently published a guide to help families assess the need for elder care services like home nursing and in-home care.
“Growing old is never easy for the person aging, but it isn’t easy for their loved ones who want to help but don’t always know the best way to, either,” said Linnea Goodrich, President of Firstat Nursing Services in San Diego, CA. “Even though your parent may have expressed a strong desire to remain independent, there may come a time when – for both their safety and your emotional well-being – you may have to make some tough decisions.”
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you begin to weigh your options.
Before making the choice of how to handle eldercare for a parent, people should remove any guilt they might feel from the picture. Families wouldn’t be making a decision if they didn’t want what’s best for loved ones, and sometimes what’s best doesn’t always fall into line with what they want to do.
For aging parents, there are signs that people need to be aware of that signify it’s time to intervene with his or her care. First, look out for more frequent falls or other injuries – such as she burns herself more often while cooking.
Secondly, see if the aging parent is losing weight. Forgetfulness is a natural part of aging and sometimes elderly people forget whether or not they’ve eaten. Many suffer from extreme malnutrition.
Third, take notice if the parent is exhibiting signs of “hermit” behavior. They don’t like to leave the house at all or they leave as little as possible. They’ve pulled back from their usual social outings.
Fourth, families may notice that they become more disorganized. They don’t pay the bills and sometimes might even experience their electricity or other utilities being turned off for non-payment.
Fifth, check to see that some of their actions are dangerous to themselves and others. They might leave the stove on or forget to shut off running water. Kitchen fires can become a common occurrence.
Sixth, take notice if the home is falling into disrepair both outside and inside. A formerly neat home becomes dirty and you may notice items beginning to accumulate. The cleanliness issues can also be with your loved one. You see that they don’t bathe or forget to bathe. They may neglect to brush their hair or to do their laundry. If they have a pet, they may neglect taking care of the pet or allow it to go to the bathroom inside the home and not clean it up.
Seventh, have conversations with your parent in which they’re saying the same thing they’ve said repeatedly. They can’t remember their doctor’s appointments or other engagements, either.
When it reaches this point, adult children have to review their options. Caring for elderly loved ones in either their home or yours should be considered, but is a big responsibility. When adult children must continue to go to work to earn a living, it can be challenging to care for them. Hiring a San Diego home health professional can take the burden of families in this situation and give you them confidence that their health and safety are in the hands of trusted professionals.
About Firstat Nursing Services
Linnea Goodrich is the owner of Firstat Nursing Services, which is the only Home care Agency in San Diego that is both State licensed and certified by the Alzheimer’s Association. Firstat Nursing Services has been providing a higher standard of home nursing, home health and home care services for elderly, disabled and injured people in the greater San Diego area since 1997. To pick up a copy of her free report “Critical Questions You Must Ask Before You Hire a Home Care Provider,” Visit, http://www.FirstatOfSanDiego.com
