There are a lot of misconceptions about what in-home care is, when it is needed, how to pay for it and more. It can be overwhelming to know what is fact and what is fiction when it comes to caregiving services. Homewatch CareGivers of Oakland wants to ensure that we provide you with the necessary information you need to know about in-home care services.

Here is a short list to clarify:

You’ve Got a Friend

• It’s called “companion care” and it’s about helping to alleviate loneliness. The fact is, many people in our society feel lonely and this can lead to depression. Some experts believe that it can even lead to dementia.
• Quality in-home care agencies will be committed to matching professionally-trained caregivers with clients so that they can strike up a relationship based on common interests or backgrounds. For example, a caregiver in her 30s may have been in the military and connected with a client in his 80s who also served in the military.

Take a Break

• It’s called “respite care” and it’s about giving a family caregiver a change of pace or duties for a brief time. The family caregiver needs to replenish their spirit, their energy, and more.
• Hiring a professional in-home caregiver or just asking another relative, friend or neighbor to take your place for a few hours a week can provide time to relax and maintain connections to people or personal interests. The care recipient also benefits when their primary caregiver feels more rested and relaxed.

You Don’t Have to Choose Just One

• When it comes to long-term care, there are options. These can be overlapped for the maximum benefit for all parties.
• For example, you might need to move an elder loved one into an assisted living facility but you can still keep their in-home caregiver to help with anything from bathing to medication reminders, which aren’t included as part of the facility costs. Or, hire a professional caregiver to help with transportation after adult day care when you are still at work.
• Depending on the illness or condition that led to a need for assistance, a person’s abilities and therefore choices for care will naturally change over time.

It’s Too Expensive

• There are many ways to pay for in-home care services beyond your personal savings.
• There are veterans’ benefits (for spouses of veterans too), long-term care insurance, some life insurance, and in some states, if a person meets the qualifications, Medicaid care recipients may be able to pay a family member to be their caregiver.
• It can be complicated to research these payment options, but it can also be worth it to take advantage of a program that eases the stress on the caregiver and recipient.

One Size Fits All

• Quality in-home care should be customized to the individual. This is not nursing home care from the movies, but unique plans built around each person’s specific condition, abilities, and preferences.
• It starts with caregiver and client matching, professional training, and…listening. Who are you? What matters to you? What do you like to do? What do you need?

Contact Homewatch CareGivers of Oakland at (510)835-9362 or oakland@hwcg.com to learn more about in-home care services.