Home Care Is Surprisingly Affordable!

As private duty home care has gained more attention across the country for offering many advantages to seniors, more families are asking the big question: “Can I afford to pay for private duty home care for my senior loved one?”

As senior care professionals immersed in the day-to-day needs of seniors, we often forget how vast the field is for aging seniors. Since we deal with many of the issues facing seniors, we do not remember that we did not always know the answers to many senior care questions. Including the big “Can I afford it?”

So, this article is an attempt to help senior citizens, adult children, and other family members understand the cost of private duty home care.

Let’s take a common situation of “Mary.” Mary is a 53 year old professional who is concerned about her 81 year old mother. Mary’s mother, Betty, is getting forgetful, but has not been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Betty has lost 10 pounds over the last couple of months, primarily due to poor nutrition. Her home is not kept clean like it has been all her life. Mary is concerned that her mother is living below her normal standard of living due to lack of energy as well as short-term memory loss. Mary would like to check in on her mother a couple days per week and help prepare and freeze meals that her mom can warm up through the week to ensure good nutrition. Mary would also like to help clean her mother’s home and ensure a sanitary living environment. The problem is, Mary has such limited time around her busy schedule that she hesitates to spend her only time with her mother in the role of a caretaker.

Mary is delighted to find that she can hire a professional, screened caregiver who can assist with her mother’s specific needs. Mary was surprised to learn she can have a Certified Nursing Assistant come twice a week for four hours per visit for a cost of approximately $600 per month! The caregiver helps with meals, checks to make sure medications have been taken, provides light housekeeping, and interactswith her mother. Having a professional caregiver check in on her mother twice a week has brought Mary so much peace of mind that she cannot remember how she got along before she discovered private duty home care.

“Sylvia” faces a completely different situation. Her father, William, is 88 years old and has Parkinson’s. He can no longer bath, toilet, shave, or even walk without assistance. Sylvia’s friends think it is time for her to place her father in a nursing home. Sylvia thinks it is the only option, but her father is dead set against it. He even tells Sylvia, “The only way I’m leaving this house is horizontally.”

After much research, Sylvia discovers she can have a professionally trained and screened Certified Nursing Assistant live-in with her father and provide the total care that he requires, including bathing, shaving, dressing, toileting, walking assistance, meal planning and preperation, medication reminders, and all the other day-to-day tasks that most of the population take for granted. Sylvia is pleased to learn that she can have this personal one-on-one help at her father’s home for less than the cost of an average nursing home. The monthly cost is approximately $6,000, which includes the CNA being in her father’s home around the clock, AND a professional nurse making occasionally visits to check on him.

Family Private Care does not require a contract for services. Just like a person would pick up the phone and call a taxi to come take them to the airport, seniors and their family members can pick up the phone and request a caregiver to come assist them for one time only. Or, they can request one day per week; or two days a week; or once a month; etc. No matter how much or little care is needed, Family Private Care will refer just that much! At any time that the amount of time needs to be reduced…or increased…all it takes is one phone call to make the change.

However much or little care is needed, Family Private Care gladly customizes services to meet the individual needs of your situation. Our goal is always to go above and beyond the normal expectations of our clientele.

Call or email today for more information. We look forward to assisting your family with your in-home care needs…or, pointing you to the right senior care resource.

Also check out Family Private Care’s YouTube.com site at http://www.youtube.com/user/FamilyPrivateCare which features various client testimonials and educational videos.