The Difficult Choice: Choosing Home Health Care For Your Loved Ones

Research conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has consistently shown most seniors surveyed prefer to age in place, meaning they desire to remain in their own homes if possible. Home healthcare agencies like TruCare Home Care in Philadelphia offer individuals and their families peace of mind by providing high-quality home care services. From personal care and medication management to meal preparation and transportation, home care health attendants enable seniors to maintain independence in their own homes with dignity.

Key Takeaways

• Home health care offers a variety of supportive and medical services to elderly, disabled, and chronically ill individuals.
• When family and friends are unable to take care of loved ones, home health care providers can offer necessary support, companionship, and vital medical services.
• When searching for a top home health care agency, assess their overview of services, qualifications for home care attendants, policies, and payment plans. It’s also important to ask if agencies conduct background checks and drug testing on their caregiving providers to ensure safety.

What is Home Health Care?

Home health care services offer supportive and/or medical care to individuals who need assistance completing tasks at home such as senior citizens, disabled, or chronically ill individuals. Long or short-term care services are carried out by a certified professional caregiver, often associated with a home healthcare agency. 

Tasks can include but are not limited to:

• Personal care like grooming & bathing
• Meal prep & feeding assistance 
• Light housekeeping
• Grocery shopping
• Mobility assistance & fall prevention
• Transportation
• Daily reminders to take medications
• Therapy and rehabilitative services
• Nursing care
• Supervision
• Companionship & socialization

Why Homecare Services Can Be Necessary

If you or a loved one wish to stay at home but need assistance with daily tasks, a home health care agency may be the right decision. Family and friends may not have the emotional or physical bandwidth, or time, to offer the level of necessary care their loved one needs so they can live comfortably at home. While individuals may not initially appreciate the idea of having a “stranger in one’s home”, it can be taxing for family and friends to provide proper care 24/7, especially if their loved one has medical conditions. 

It’s also important for seniors to retain social relationships to avoid loneliness, depression, and other health complications arising from increased isolation. Homecare attendants can help provide companionship and support in addition to fulfilling other needs.

How to Choose the Best Home Health Care Agency

Before selecting a home health care agency, it’s wise to examine individual circumstances, and the agency’s overview of services, certifications, and ratings. Home care services can offer care based on the individual’s and family’s level of needs, and agencies consider the best candidate based on skills, qualifications, and a personality match. 

Consider the following tips for hiring a home care provider: 

1. Speak to at least three different agencies in your local area to determine the best fit.
2. Examine each agency’s list of services to see if they align with what you or your loved one needs. 
3. Assess each agency’s payment and financial assistance plans. For instance TruCare Home Care offers financial assistance to low-income clients. 
4. Ask each agency about termination procedures and how to ask for a different caregiver if requested.
5. Read online testimonials.
6. Ask for references.
7. Confirm the agency conducts background checks and drug testing on caregivers, as well as the general qualifications of hired caregivers.

Philadelphia’s Leading Home Healthcare Agency 

TruCare Homecare is a women-owned and family-operated business centered on providing compassionate in-home senior care in the greater Philadelphia area. Our facility offers adult day care services in addition to home health care services such as meal preparation, grooming, mobility assistance, and transportation. Caregivers are dedicated to creating meaningful bonds with clients and their families, offering tailored care plans that best benefit individuals’ health care needs. 

We are experienced in working with families who are low income, without insurance or with partial coverage, so we can ensure that you or a loved one receives necessary care. TruCare is Medicaid certified, accredited by The Joint Commission and we are licensed by the PA Dept of Health.

For more information about our services, call our office at (610) 878-2273 or visit our website.