Debunking Myths About Senior Home Care

Senior home care services are invaluable to older adults and their families. Professional in-home caregivers provide meaningful companionship and socialization, helping seniors age in place safely and comfortably. Families are assured that their senior loved one is receiving dedicated and compassionate care from a qualified responsible professional.

Misconceptions about in-home personal care do exist and may prevent the elderly and their families from considering this service. Here are four common senior home care myths and facts you need to know.

Myth: Senior home care is low-quality compared to nursing home care.

Fact: Visiting Angels Newton/Canton’s certified HHA and CNA caregivers undergo comprehensive background checks. They have the opportunity to participate in robust training on topics that include fall prevention, home safety, dementia care, and internal policies and procedures.

Visiting Angels’ caregivers are fully focused on their senior client’s needs — whether those requests include personal care assistance, light household tasks, or companionship. A Visiting Angels caregiver will get to know a senior loved one, making it easier to identify changes or concerns and update the family.

In contrast, nursing home staff typically care for several residents during each shift and may not have time to provide meaningful companionship to each resident. Living in a nursing home is also associated with a greater risk of contracting colds, flu, COVID-19, gastrointestinal viruses, and other contagious illnesses when compared to one-on-one personal care in the home.

Myth: Aging in place isn’t safe.

Fact: Visiting Angels Newton/Canton offers a comprehensive Fall Prevention Program, which includes a home safety walk-through and fall risk assessment. Our case managers will identify tripping hazards, poorly lit areas, and bathroom/kitchen risks and suggest modifications.

Our well-trained caregivers help seniors with mobility concerns navigate their home safely and reduce the risk of accidents or injuries. Caregivers also keep seniors safe by helping them with light housekeeping duties, transportation, errands, and meal preparation.

Myth: In-home care is only for people who are very sick.

Fact: Home care is for any older adult who wants to remain independent and stay at home as long as possible. Professional in-home caregivers can provide the full spectrum of non-medical, supportive senior care — including assisting seniors who need companionship to prevent social isolation and managing unique personal care needs. They often serve as the hands and feet of their client to help them accomplish what they want to do.

Myth: Home care means giving up independence.

Fact: The thought of losing independence is scary for anyone. But hiring an in-home caregiver doesn’t mean an older adult is losing independence — in fact, it means the opposite. Professional home care enables seniors to maintain independence and provides them with the assistance they need to continue living safely at home.

Visiting Angels’ caregivers pride themselves on helping seniors maximize their abilities and providing them a sense of purpose and control over their care. Although a caregiver may make recommendations to enhance quality of life, seniors and their families have the final say on the home care plan.

Questions?

Hopefully, we have debunked some of the myths about home care services. If you are planning for a loved one’s future care or have an immediate need for in-home care, contact Visiting Angels Newton/Canton for an in-home, no-cost, no-obligation assessment. Our case managers will discuss your loved one’s specific situation, answer your home care questions, recommend a plan to provide the level of care that will meet your senior’s needs — and dispel any myths you may have heard about home care..

About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton
Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA has been providing superior quality at-home care services for seniors and adults with disabilities for over eighteen years. Countless families have benefited from our private duty care, respite home care, companion care, live-in and 24/7 home care, dementia and Alzheimer’s care, transitional aid, and at-home living assistance in Needham, Dedham, Brookline, Watertown, Norwood, Roslindale, Upper Back Bay, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Stoughton, Canton, Jamaica Plain, Westwood, and neighboring communities. As a result of our exemplary home care service, Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has won the Best of Home Care Leader in Excellence Award; the Best of Home Care Provider of Choice Award; and the Best of Home Care Employer of Choice Award from the national client satisfaction survey firm, Home Care Pulse, for six years. We have been honored to receive the Boston Globe’s Top Places to Work award for seven years and one of the ten best places to work in Massachusetts in 2021 based on diversity and inclusion. Our dedicated and well-trained caregivers love their HHA and CNA caregiver jobs.