A Guide to Various Services Included within the In-home Senior Care

Category: Family

There are different types of senior care services available in the US that may or may not be covered by insurance. These services include assisted living facilities, respite care, continuing care retirement communities, registered nurses, in-home care, transitioning care, end-of-life care, etc. Some of them could be provided by the state itself (Administration on Aging funded programs) such as adult day care, caregiver facility, transportation, respite care etc. and others through private care agencies. Medicare & Medicaid may provide for senior care depending on the duration and type of care needed.

It is important to understand the difference between Medicare & Medicaid to know what options are available to pay for senior care. Medicare is a national health insurance which is available to all Americans who are 65 or older. It could cover only short term care and is not appropriate for seeking cover for continuing support. As such, it does not cover many types of elder care programs such as assisted living, nursing home care for extended periods, in-home care or any other long term care.

Medicaid, on the other hand, is a health care program created for those families and individuals who have low income and limited resources such that receiving health care is inconceivable. It is jointly administered by the federal government and states. A major portion of Medicaid is funded by the federal government; however, every state has different rules regarding eligibility and manner of disposing these funds. If you are eligible for Medicaid, then it could pay for long term nursing care, assisted living, in-home care and other long term care programs.

In-home senior care is generally concerned with personal care services but also could club companionship services within it to provide both care services as one. Personal care services provide assistance with the activities of daily living that the seniors are no longer capable of doing themselves such as bathing, grooming, hygiene, mobility assistance, transferring & positioning, toilet assistance, incontinence care, feeding, and giving prescribed diets. There are some renowned home care agencies in Montclair that provide exemplary in-home senior care services.

Companionship services are offered to elders for addressing the problem of boredom and social aloofness which in most cases lead to depression, malnutrition and host of other problems. These services make it possible for elders to have a social life even while being at home. It has been noticed that such services could prove more than useful in improving overall life quality of seniors and offer them the similar social life as they would have got in an assisted living facility.

Companionship services help seniors with instrumental activities of daily living such as transportation assistance, help with reading, engaging seniors in mental activities, taking care of day’s schedule, light housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation, running errands, medication reminders, help with grooming etc. In the Montclair and surrounding areas, some home care agencies provide personal care & companionship services as a single service within the in-home senior care.