Ron Tester, PT, COS-C, is the founder and Administrator of Advanced RehabTrust Home Health, a nationally-recognized home health agency serving North Texas.
According to the AARP, nearly 90% of seniors want to stay at home as they get older. What are some reasons more seniors are choosing to "age in place", as the AARP put it?
There are several reasons seniors want to stay home. Most important, they can keep their independence. Even if they have some help at home, they still get to eat what they want, when they want; get up and go to bed when they want; and do whatever they want without having to worry about an institution telling them what to eat, what to do or when to do it.
Also, most seniors want to be in familiar surroundings. No facility is ever going to feel like "home" the way home does. Even if they can squeeze their bed, couch and china cabinet into the new place, it's just not the same.
Third, leaving home for a senior living facility - even a nice one - often feels like "the beginning of the end." Many seniors who move away from home feel like they are resigning themselves to fate or "giving up."
As your parents or older family members age, they may not eat as healthily as they once did. Some issues that affect older people, such as frailty or depression, may make it either difficult to plan and prepare meals or difficult to summon the energy. All too many older people make do with less than nutritious meals.
Many older Americans are food insecure, which can stem from multiple factors, including difficulty accessing healthful and inexpensive food or challenges in paying for an adequate amount of food. In addition, if they are living alone, they may lack the motivation to cook for themselves.
Coupled with these challenges, though, is the importance of eating well to senior health overall. Eating healthily can keep in check health conditions common to the elderly, like diabetes and heart disease. It can improve the overall energy level of seniors and keep their brain functioning optimally. Good nutrition has a preventive effect on illnesses as well. In short, healthy eating is part of good senior care.
What will this mean for in-home care? The report notes: "The number of older single persons living alone will climb, implying a significant increase in the need for in-home healthcare and supportive services."
Amie Clark, co-founder and frequent contributor to TheSeniorList.com, has had the privledge of working with seniors throughout her social work career in the areas of senior housing and care coordination.
Here she discusses some of her favorite things about TheSeniorList.com and shares ideas on navigating the process of finding long-term care for seniors. Read on:
Tell us about The Senior List. What spurred you to create the site?
The Senior List was created to help families and caregivers navigate the issues and challenges of senior care. We explore everything from Alzheimer's/dementia, medical alert systems, tech for the home, caregiving tips, senior discounts, senior housing and many other boomer/senior related topics.
In some cases, professional caregivers may also encounter significant resistance from a patient who is having trouble adjusting to his or her changed circumstances. Occasionally, this resistance manifests itself in the form of anger or irritability displayed inappropriately toward the caregiver. This, too, can be stressful.
Life's transitional moments have a way of sneaking up on you. While your loved one may seem perfectly fine living independently one moment, in a short time, that can change. For many family caregivers, the difficulty is in seeing exactly when that change occurs.
Unless there is a particular precipitating event, like a debilitating illness or injury, the changes that occur are often so subtle that they go undetected for a time by even the most caring of family members. Added to that, many seniors try to mask the difficulties they are having performing activities of daily living on their own in an attempt to spare their caregivers from anxiety.
Here, then, are some signs that can help you detect when it is time to find support for your loved one with home health care services:
If you are considering a career in-home health care, there are a number of factors you must weigh when choosing a quality home health agency with which to work. The reality is that not all home care agencies are created equal, and some offer substantially better pay, benefits, and tools to help you thrive as a home care worker.
With the goal of finding an agency that is a good fit for you, here are some important things to consider:
Rooted in Place
This sentiment makes sense. The concept of moving into a different community and a new living arrangement can create anxiety at any age. However, especially in the case of seniors, pulling up roots and making such a change is often an overwhelming prospect.
For many seniors, the homes in which they live are the homes where they raised families, where they invested their time and resources, and where they developed close friendships with neighbors. Leaving all of that behind in favor of a new, sometimes radically different environment holds little appeal.
Additionally, from a purely physical perspective, the thought of moving to a new home is an exhausting one, as seniors consider how to dispose of a lifetime's accumulation of clutter to live comfortably in the smaller space common in assisted living communities.
Home is where the heart is. At least, that appears to be the case for Baby Boomers now entering their retirement years. Unlike older generations, Baby Boomers expect to live independently much longer than their predecessors, and intend to use all tools at their disposal to do so.
USA Today's "Retirees Embrace Ways to Stay Put, Age in Place" notes that the vast majority of people aged 50 or older want to stay in their homes for as long as possible. The article observes: "They want to age in place, continuing to live in their home or at least in the same community. And they're not afraid to remodel and try new technologies to make that happen."
Some of the technologies available to help seniors age in place are:
- smart homes
- personal emergency response systems
- telemedicine
- health monitoring devices
The process of aging takes an undeniable toll on a body. Does that mean, however, that an active lifestyle is no longer an option for your loved one?
The answer to that question is a definitive "no." In reality, leading an active lifestyle can be more important than ever as people age.
The Benefits of Exercise and an Active Lifestyle
HelpGuide.org's "Exercise and Fitness as You Age" observes: "Regular exercise can help boost energy, maintain your independence, and manage symptoms of illness or pain. Exercise can even reverse some of the symptoms of aging. And not only is exercise good for your body, it's also good for your mind, mood, and memory."
In addition to structured exercise like weight training or cardio, seniors can derive much benefit from simply maintaining an active lifestyle. Taking a walk in the park, gardening, and generally moving more are all ways to tap into the body's potential to heal and support itself both physically and mentally.