As your parents grow older, it’s natural for you to worry about how they will get along from day to day. This is especially true as they become feebler and more forgetful, as they’re more vulnerable to accidents and injuries. It becomes more evident that they need senior care.

Now as a responsible son or daughter you may want to take care of the problem yourself, but often this isn’t practical or even possible. So what should you do to make sure that your elderly mom or dad gets the elderly care they need?

Traditionally, the solution to this situation is for your elderly loved one to go to a nursing home. But more and more people are now opting for in home care instead. More people have realized that there are more benefits to home care than to have elderly parents live in a nursing home.

Here are some reasons why:

• You can also be sure that a home caregiver will give your parent the one-on-one attention they need. The focus of the caregiver will always be on your parent. That’s often not true in nursing homes, where in general the seniors outnumber the caregivers. So they may have to “wait their turn” for the attention of the aides.
• Your parents will also feel more comfortable staying at home than moving to a nursing home. A nursing simply doesn’t feel “right”, no matter how homey the health aides there try to decorate the place. There’s simply no substitute for the comfort of a favorite couch or the view from a favorite corner of the house. Besides, relocating can be very stressful. With in-house care, your parents retain these familiar comforts.
  
  
• Seniors who stay at home tend to live longer than those who live in nursing homes, and studies have confirmed this fact. In addition, those who stay at home tend to be physically and mentally healthier compared to the residents of nursing homes.
  
  
• Home health care also promotes the healing process. Research studies have shown that patients can recuperate and heal faster and much more comfortably when they’re at home, compared to staying in a hospital or a nursing home. There’s also less chance of needing the services of the hospital again when their recovery process is at home.
  
  
• Home health aides can also customize their services and attention to the needs of your elderly parents. So they can tailor what they can do, such as if your parents are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. This is in stark contrast to the generic “one size fits all” approach that most caregivers offer in nursing homes. With home care, you’re aware of the fact that not all seniors need the same kind of attention and care.
  
  
• It may turn out that a nursing home is also much more expensive than home care, even if you ask for as much as 8 hours a day of assistance. That’s because nursing homes offer live-in facilities, and they may have other special equipment that can be used for elderly care. But it may mean that you’re paying for equipment and services that your parents don’t really need. 
  
  
• With a home caregiver, your parents can also enjoy the freedom and independence that they’re unwilling to give up. They can set the rules and they can even go out when they want to visit friends and socialize.
  
  But in nursing homes, this may not be possible. Many nursing homes have restrictive rules. And you may even have to visit your parents only at certain times. At your parents’ home, you can drop by at any time you want. And they can be driven by their caregivers to the supermarket or to the homes of their friends.
  
  
• At home, your parents also enjoy meals that they actually like. Nursing homes may prepare food for large numbers of people, and in some days the food may not be to your parent’s liking. You can also ensure that the food your parents eat are properly prepared, tasty, and nutritious.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nearly 50 million people globally are living with dementia. The condition strikes so often, so arbitrarily, and with such little warning that many have dubbed it the Silent Epidemic.

Most of us are familiar with the most common type of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease. Other common forms of dementia are less known but equally destructive: vascular dementia, frontotemporal disorders, and Lewy body dementia, the form of dementia Robin Williams was diagnosed with after his death.

At an individual level, dementia affects everyone it touches: the person diagnosed, their loved ones, caregivers, family, and friends. At the global level, dementia takes an equally exacting toll. This article is the beginning in a series of articles focused on this devastating condition.

Dementia is a complicated disorder and providing high quality, integrated, and affordable care is a challenge for any country. Because of these challenges, people living with dementia often receive fragmented and uncoordinated care that does not properly address their needs or the needs of friends and family who care for them.    (Visit the link above to read the rest of the article. More is promised to come by the author.)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________