Coronavirus is scary, and you should be aware of what’s happening in your community. Older adults face a significant risk of health complications if they do get exposed to the virus. The current recommendation is for all seniors to take action now to prevent coming into contact with the virus so the chance for hospitalization remains low.
Avoid Being in a Group Facility
Seniors can contract coronavirus anytime they’re near someone who is carrying the germ. The risk of exposure goes up when aging adults are around more people. Group living environments, such as assisted living facilities, tend to have higher rates of infections. Although the staff and residents in these places try to maintain sanitation and hygiene, there’s no way to keep the risk of exposure as low as it is in a senior’s own home.
Plan for Substitute Caregivers
If your senior loved one is currently aging in place, you may be helping him or her throughout the day. If your loved one shows signs of exposure to the coronavirus, he or she may need to self-isolate. Working with a professional home care agency puts you in contact with home caregivers who can step in and help if you need to avoid contact with your loved one. This arrangement also comes with the benefit of having someone come to your loved one’s home who is trained in how to minimize older adults’ risk of exposure to the coronavirus.
Families who find it difficult to care for their aging loved ones without assistance can benefit greatly from professional respite care. Highland Park, TX, family caregivers who need a break from their caregiving duties can turn to Home Care Assistance. Using our proprietary Balanced Care Method, our respite caregivers can encourage your loved one to eat well, exercise regularly, get plenty of mental and social stimulation, and focus on other lifestyle factors that promote longevity.
Follow Common Sense When It Comes to Hygiene Practices
Now is the time to be especially vigilant about personal hygiene. Encourage your loved one to avoid touching his or her face as much as possible and wash his or her hands after handling mail, groceries, and other items that come from outside. You can also wipe down surfaces in the home and get help with housekeeping if the extra cleaning becomes too much for your loved one to handle independently.
If your aging loved one needs help managing everyday tasks or encouragement to adopt healthier lifestyle choices, turn to Home Care Assistance, a leading provider of senior home care. Home Care Assistance provides professional in-home caregivers around the clock to help seniors live longer, happier, and healthier lives.
Practice Social Distancing
Social distancing may feel isolating, but there are ways to manage the potential for loneliness. For instance, you can share a meal with your loved one after picking up his or her groceries. Your loved one can also use social media and video chats to stay in contact with family and friends. If your loved one has a medical appointment that can wait, he or she may need to reschedule it for a safer time.
Treat Known Health Conditions
The immune system is affected by current health conditions. For instance, diabetes can make it difficult for the body to fight off illnesses. If your loved one has a known health issue, take steps to help him or her keep it under control. Your loved one can also increase efforts to maintain his or her health now. Encourage your parent to take walks in safe areas, eat healthy, and get plenty of sleep at night so he or she feels better and is less likely to get sick.
If your loved one needs help following healthy habits that boost his or her immune system, a home caregiver can be a wonderful source of support. Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of elderly home care. Highland Park families can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide individualized care plans to meet your elderly loved one’s unique care needs. Our holistic Balanced Care Method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia. Trust your loved one’s care to the professionals at Home Care Assistance. To create a customized home care plan for your loved one, call (214) 363-3400 today.
With information surrounding coronavirus/COVID-19 changing by the hour, it’s challenging to stay updated on the most recent best practices for keeping seniors safe at home. At Home Care Assistance, we understand how critical it is for seniors and their caregivers to protect against coronavirus as much as possible. All our team members have received detailed communication on infection control protocols, including effective cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and hands. Our caregivers can pick up medications, groceries, and anything else a senior needs, minimizing their interaction with large groups of people. For more information on how Home Care Assistance helps protect clients, click here: https://www.homecareassistanceparkcities.com/covid-19-home-care/.