It’s your dad’s dream to stay in his current home. You want to support that, and it means ensuring he has the help he needs each day. You’ve heard about personal care services and companion care services, but you’re not sure how they differ.
Understanding All That Companion Care Covers
Personal care services help your dad with hygiene and grooming chores. It’s a specialized level of care that focuses mainly on the things your dad does for himself in the bathroom. Companion care covers so much more than that.
Companion care services take care of your dad’s needs for companionship. His caregivers are there to talk to him, play games with him, and get him to engage in his favorite activities like photography, painting, and gardening.
Caregivers can clean your dad’s home. He’ll have caregivers who can vacuum and sweep his floors, wash his dishes, and do the laundry. He’ll have an aide available to change his sheets, make his bed, and fluff pillows. His care aides can dust, tidy up, and wipe down counters.
With companion care services, your dad’s meals are made from scratch. He’ll sit down with his caregiver, plan weekly menus, and shop for the ingredients he needs. His caregiver can cook the meals for him when it’s time and keep him company while he eats.
If your dad cannot cut food into bite-size pieces, his caregiver can do it for him. If he needs help getting the fork or spoon to his mouth, that’s also an available service from caregivers.
Your dad is supposed to take a walk every day. He doesn’t feel comfortable going outside alone, so he doesn’t walk. With companion care at home, he’ll have someone to walk with. As he has company joining him on that walk, he might walk farther.
Talk to the Family and Then a Companion Care Specialist
The best step to take is to gather family members and friends who provide your dad’s care. What do they frequently help him complete, and what does he do well on his own? After that discussion, ask them what they still want to help him with, but what they struggle to find enough time to complete.
Where there are gaps or stressors that make it hard to provide all of the care your dad needs, you’ll hire companion care at home services to fill in. He’ll have people keeping him company all week, driving him around, and cooking his meals.
When your ultimate goal is to make sure your dad’s home is clean and organized, he has rides, and he has someone to talk to, companion care at home is the right choice. Talk to an expert in home care to learn more about prices, schedules, and getting started with companion care at home.