Home Care Near Me: 6 Ways to Find In-Home Senior Care Around You

The need for in home senior care can be due to several different situations. Your loved one may have been doing well independently, but they are scheduled for a knee or hip replacement and will need temporary assistance. Perhaps you have been the primary “helper” for your elderly parents, running errands or cooking meals, and you need help with those tasks. If your loved one has dementia, which is a progressive disease, you may feel that your parent is not safe without more frequent assistance.

If you are the primary caregiver providing in home senior care for a loved one, finding assistance may be more to do with providing yourself with respite. You need to keep yourself in good health in order to be a good caregiver for your loved one. This means having time off to “recharge your batteries.” You need time off each week and to be able to take a vacation occasionally.

You want to know that your loved one is safe and in good hands while you are gone. The good news is, in these situations, you usually have time to research what help is available in your area and choose the service that best meets your needs. If your parent has some type of accident, a fracture, or requires some type of emergency surgery, you will need help fast. You won’t have the advantage of time. This difficulty can be compounded if you do not live in the same area as your loved one.

Here are some suggestions on how to find caregivers near your parent:

1. Consult their physician.  Your loved one’s primary physician should be able to help you determine what type of help your parent can benefit from. If they are going to have surgery, they may need physical therapy as well as assistance with ADLs (Activities of Daily Living). The physician should be able to give you a list of agencies that can help you prepare for your loved one’s return home after surgery, as well as suggest modifications to the home and equipment that may be needed.
2. Talk to friends and family and co-workers. Ask everyone you know if they have used an agency to assist with in–home senior care. They can give you firsthand accounts of what they like and dislike about the service agency they used. It will be especially helpful if their senior has the same health issues as your senior loved one, such as Parkinson’s or dementia.
3. Hospital discharge planner. The hospital discharge planner will be involved when there has been an accident or surgery requiring a hospital admission. If this was an unplanned hospital stay, the discharge planner will be invaluable to help you prepare and find resources before your senior returns home. Remember, you have very limited time to prepare, as Medicare has a set amount of days allowed for different types of hospitalizations. It sometimes seems incredibly short, and there are a lot of decisions that have to be made quickly.
4. AARP. AARP is probably the best-known advocate for both the senior and their caregivers. The AARP website is a great starting point when you are considering in-home senior care. There is a listing of the different types of services that are available, as well as the questions to ask the different agencies you are considering to best meet your senior’s needs.
5. Church. Many churches have a program of volunteers that provide companion care for a few hours each week. This is usually free and gives the caregiver a chance to take care of chores, like grocery shopping, or allows the primary caregiver a chance to take care of their personal needs like a haircut, dental checkup, or just a break to take a walk or have lunch with a friend.
6. Medicare. Visit the official U.S. government Medicare website. There is a lot of helpful information, including a list of Medicare-certified agencies in your area. This is especially helpful if the goal of a senior is “homecare near me.” It  is also a great starting point if your loved one lives a distance from you and you are unfamiliar with what agencies are located in your senior’s vicinity.

Accepting in-home senior care is a big step for both your loved one and you. Your loved one is giving up some of their independence and privacy, while you as the primary caregiver will give up a certain amount of control. Give yourself and your senior a reasonable time to adjust.

Also, remember that the person who comes into the home to provide care must be compatible with your senior. Sometimes the most qualified caregiver will have a personality clash with your senior. That’s okay. There is nothing wrong with requesting a different caregiver. The goal is to find someone that your senior can feel comfortable with as well who provides the care needed.