How Elderly Help Can Keep Grandma in Her Home

elderly helpby Bob Kohut

Some senior citizens can be extremely stubborn in their adamant and repeated refusals to even consider for a moment the possibility of leaving the homes in which they have lived for most of their adult lives.  If you find yourself growing increasingly concerned about a situation like this in your own experience, do you know how elderly help can keep grandma in her home?

In fact, there are different levels of elderly help available for almost all situations – ranging from as much as full time live-in help to as little as a daily check-in to ensure they are all right.

The kind of elderly help you will select depends not only on Grandma’s physical and mental condition, but also on her willingness to accept help.

The place to start looking is a senior citizens center in your local area.  With an aging population living longer and longer communities of all sizes are offering more and more services for seniors, at low cost or free of charge in some cases.

For example, suppose Grandma is capable of cooking for herself but she refuses to let you take her shopping.  She likes to read every label on every product in every aisle in the store and doesn’t want to impose on your patience.  Many centers offer free mini-bus service that will pick Grandma up at her doorstep; drop her off at the grocery store and take her home when done.

Suppose Grandma resents daily phone calls from you since she feels you are checking up on her.  However, you are concerned about her falling and she refuses to wear one of those alert buttons you see advertised on TV, and cell phones – even the ones with large numbers – are for kids.  You can arrange for her to receive daily “meals on wheels”.  If the volunteer deliverer – who is often a senior citizen – gets no response to a knock on the door, you will be notified.  This is not an ideal solution but it’s a start and it has the added benefit of a daily visit from someone closer to Grandma’s age.

While professional care givers can come in for as little as a few hours a day the cost can be prohibitive.  But with the explosion in the need for elderly help a cottage industry of non-professional caregivers has sprung up.  They can be a cost effective solution for most people, but are they safe?  Will they take good care of Grandma?

First, you should be aware there are issues even with professional providers.  Cost does not always guarantee quality.  Many of these non-professional providers are caring people who are more than capable of providing basic services such as cooking and cleaning as well as monitoring medications and generally just providing a watchful eye.

There are websites that include profiles of these private senior care providers and they are well worth your consideration.  Some are younger seniors themselves and most profiles include references you can check.

Finally, you are not the only person wrestling with the issues of how elderly help can keep Grandma in her home.  Check with friends, neighbors, and business associates and you may find someone who has faced the same dilemma and can offer the benefit of their experiences.

3 Responses

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  2. Your Message Please take a look at this video and website. Keeping people in their homes when they want to is very important and added to the quality of their life. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QaCP4441oM Sincerely, Theresa Gorski
  3. [...] the original here: How Elderly Help Can Keep Grandma in Her Home This entry was posted in Elder Care and tagged a-daily-visit, a-few-hours, [...]
  4. Aging in place is certainly the preferred route for the majority of people. Comfort and independence are of the upmost importance for seniors, and your post brings up some great suggestions to accomodate this. Thanks for sharing! Become a Facebook fan for discounts on Baby Boomer products and more
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  6. These are are really good tips. It is hard to find good help you can trust. Especially hard to get grandma to be ok with what you want as well.