WHAT’S THE BEST ELDERLY CARE CHOICE?
“If you are exploring full-time care services for a loved one, weighing your options is important.”
In fact, almost half of the citizens over the age of 60 needs assistance. When you’re faced with the decision to take care of the one you love, you have 3 choices. You can choose to shift your loved one to an aged care or nursing home, or take care by yourself, or consider hiring an in-home caregiver. While nursing homes give around-the-clock services, they also force the patient to lose their families and their dear ones. This often leads to stress, social anxiety, and a poor quality of life You yourself may end up taking care that your family member requires. Although this is courageous, it could lead to exhaustion. And also, if you are not adequately trained, you may not even be able to provide enough care they need.
The aspects “live-in care” and “24-hour care” may appear to be synonymous, but there are a few major differences to consider when you make your choice. It’s essential to know the difference between the two before you hire a caregiver. Before you start looking for the right kind of care, make a note of your loved one’s requirements. This determines more clearly which care options will ultimately support your loved ones around the clock. However, a 24-hour care setup could be the best choice. Keep reading to learn how these two care arrangements are different and why one will be more beneficial to the elderly in your life.
Live-in-Care
Live in care means that there is a caregiver living in the site at all times. That’s not to say that the caregiver has taken shelter in your home. In fact, it means that one caregiver is always on-site for a 24-h period. After shift comes to an end, the caregiver can go back to his or her own residence or continue further shift with your family. Rather than having a team of several caregivers rotating through shifts, one caregiver is scheduled for a maximum of four to five days per week. The shifts are 24 hours long and an eight-hour nap break is permitted. To hire a live-in care provider, a bed or a guest room should be provided. A 2-hour daily break should also be given other than the sleep break.
Live-in care is a good option for individuals seeking to decrease the number of caregivers providing their services. Usually, you will need to schedule 2 caregivers to cover the whole week. This makes it possible to build stronger relations and much more fluid care. Live-in care is also paid differently than 24-hour care. Instead of paying per hour, each caregiver is paid a decent rate each day of employment. Many chose this style of billing as easy to determine.
It is just as important, however, to consider the consequences of this form of care. The main issue is that there is a need for mandatory breaks. As only one caregiver is planned at a time, this could pose problems. If you are anxious about your loved one being continuously supervised, the idea of an 8-hour nap break and a 2-hour daily break may seem scary. Who’s going to say when your loved one may have a fall, confront muscle pain or other emergency health conditions, or even worse? To tackle this situation, many families choose to have a supplementary care provider step in during break times just to make sure that their loved one is actively watched. It still reduces the number of caregivers working to help your loved one, while also offering around-the-clock care that you want. However, paying for overlaps in care can be a little costly, and also difficult to manage.
24-Hour Home Care
If live-in care doesn’t match your family’s style and timetable, consider 24-hour home care alternatively. It’s just like living-in-care, ensuring full care around the clock. Instead of one caregiver managing a full 24-hour period, two caregivers are expected to perform for 12 hours each, covering the whole day. Because caregivers work only 12 hours, you don’t need to give them a sleep break or a bed or a bedroom unless you really want to.
Another benefit is that 24-hour home care is a bit more lenient than live-in care. You can prefer to have your caregivers work 12-hour, or hire 3 caregivers to serve 8-hour each. This provides complete attentiveness throughout the shift. Unlike live-in care, 24-hour home care is charged hourly.
Generally speaking, because the home care workers will work 2 shorter, 12-hour shifts, as compared to a full-day care setup, the 24-hour staff will be much more responsive to your loved one. Professionals will be mentally strong enough to stay at the top of your veteran’s healthcare needs and condition. They will also remain physically energetic to perform tasks such as lifting your loved one from a sitting or lying position. Because the staff will be fully conscious in their entire shift, you won’t have to worry about the risks of dealing with your loved one’s health needs in the middle of the night or just very early in the morning. If your loved one really needs around-the-clock, professionally trained service, 24-hour care is the best choice. It gives you a nursing home type of support whilst also keeping privacy and property.
Make the right choice for your loved one
While your selection between 24-hour or live-in care must be defined by your loved one’s requirements and preferences. Whether you need assistance around the clock or just looking for a skilled caregiver to help a few a day, we’re here for you.
