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Different Types of Home Care in the Bay Area

Dee Bustos

Alzheimer's Care

Jul 05, 2022

10 min read

As people navigate the various aspects of life, circumstances such as illnesses, aging parents, or disabilities may befall them. In such circumstances, one may require a devoted member or a professional to care for an elderly or a health-challenged family member. Some of these caregivers help health-challenged friends accomplish various tasks. This article explores various types of home care services in the Bay Area and how to access them.

What Are Caregiver Services?

Caregiver service is the act of providing care to people who are unable to care for themselves. The care services may include attention to a health-challenged member's physical and emotional needs who may require daily care services. Some of the tasks performed by various caregivers include:

- Bathing and dressing

- Cooking and assistance with eating

- House cleaning

- Shopping

- Paying bills

- Medication administration

- Using the toilet

Caring for family members or friends may be a rewarding experience. Still, long-term or intense care may be overwhelming or have negative impacts on a caregiver’s health and well-being. This is especially to those serving as family caregivers for the first time.

Different Types of Home Care

There are various home care services in the Bay Area. Depending on the needs of the family member, one can decide whether to look for in home nursing, caregiver services, or private nursing in the Bay Area. Several agents with qualified personnel can work as in-home nurses or even private nurses in the Bay Area at an affordable rate. Home care services fall under the following types:

- Non-medical home care

- Home nursing care

- Home health care

Non-medical Home Care

The non-medical home care personnel can help your health-challenged family member with basics like cooking and cleaning. They are not medical professionals but have basic knowledge and training in essential daily activities.

Services of Non-medical Home Care

Although non-medical home cares are not medical professionals, some are more specialized and trained than others. While some are trained to handle older adults with bathing, feeding, and necessary movement, some can only offer basic care services like cooking and cleaning.

Apart from these, some caregivers are hired only to provide companionship to an aged family member who is unable to move from the house or requires companionship to prevent them from dementia problems. Such caregivers do not require a prescription from a health care provider. It is up to the senior members to decide which tasks they may require assistance with.

Home Nursing Care

Home nursing, also known as home-based skilled or long-term nursing, is the care service offered to senior adults who may require medical attention. The health-challenged family member may require home nursing care services for their chronic conditions and disabilities. Various home care agents offer in-home nursing in the Bay Area. Home-based nurses are either Registered Nurses (RNs) or Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN). They provide medical care services like dressing wounds, monitoring vitals, and administering shots. They can also extend their services and help with basic tasks like cleaning, feeding, etc.

Services of Home Nursing Care

The work scope for in-home nurses in the Bay Area covers a wide range depending on the needs of a health-challenged person. The services may range from basic ones like trimming nails, helping administer medications, and bathing to more skilled ones like caring for people with a tracheotomy, catheter, or colostomy. They may also help dress up wounds that require long term care.

Home-based nurses are also trained to handle emergencies and monitor the health progress of patients at home. They help patients develop and follow a medication schedule and keep track of their bowel movements. In addition, home-based nurses can help train other family members on a possible and efficient way to help their seniors without a caregiver. They teach family members the basic procedures to undertake so the family can live well with the patient. In-home nurses don't only attend to old adults but also attend to a patient with chronic health issues.

Home Health Care

Both home health care and nursing care share some similarities. However, while nursing care services focus on patients with long-term health issues, home health care primarily pertains to short term health challenges. Unlike home nursing health care, a home care staff's tasks comprise physical therapists, social workers, occupational therapists, physicians, and speech pathologists. The primary objective of home health care is to ensure patient health is back to normal and that they are living independently.

Services of Home Health Care

Before you engage in home health care, a doctor must prescribe the service. Home health care may receive orders from a physician to help a patient recover from a chronic health challenge like a heart attack or stroke. Together with other medical staff, the physician will develop a plan of care and hand it over to a qualified Home Health Care. Depending on the patient's state, Home Health Care staff may decide to visit daily to check and assist the patient at home daily.

One of the primary practices carried out by the care staff is to assist the patient with their routine medical care. Some health conditions may need more than one Home Health Care personnel. For instance, a patient with a stroke may need a speech therapist, physical therapist, and neurologist. Home health care offers continuation care services to patients after being discharged from medical facilities.

Home health care services are vital to patients who have survived a significant medical event but still need professional care to return to their everyday life. It is helpful for aged adults who may not be able to perform their normal tasks like driving after their medical events. They are helpful to those patients who may be unable to coordinate care from various medical professionals.

Final Words

Whether you are looking for a home caregiver or hospital sitting in the Bay Area, you should research well before engaging them. There are various services to be offered depending on the patient's need. Do not forget to involve the patient in your decision always before bringing in a caregiver.

Dee Bustos

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Dee Bustos

Chief Executive Officer

Visionary. Optimist. Tech-savvy and results-oriented. Loves to sing during her almost non-existent spare time. Her motto: Dream BIG

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