When to Hire a Home Health Aide

Home health aides provide a myriad of services, allowing your loved one to age in place or recover safely at home after an injury, illness, hospitalization, or surgery. Home health aides are usually certified nursing assistants (CNAs) qualified to assist with activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, eating, oral care, etc.) and housekeeping.

Here are some of the most common reasons home health aides are hired.

Your loved one needs assistance with bathing.

Slips and falls are common in the shower, so having an extra hand for oversight and support can help prevent injuries. Additionally, limited range of motion can make it difficult to get clean and dry in hard-to-reach areas like between their toes, their back, under their belly, or their bottom, increasing chances of infection and breakdown.

If only bathing assistance is required, a home health aide can stop a couple of times a week (or per your request) to assist with bathing on your loved one’s schedule.

Housekeeping has become a challenge.

Home health aides can help with some of the chores that get harder during times of decreased mobility, like vacuuming, scrubbing floors, and doing laundry. If your loved one’s home isn’t getting the attention it needs due to age- or health-related decline in independence, a home health aide can help. Frequency can be determined together.

You’ve noticed a decline in self-care.

A number of factors can impact your loved one’s ability to care for themselves at home, including limited range of motion, pain, worry about falling, and decline in cognitive function due to certain conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. A decline in self-care – evidenced by dental decay, a poor diet, missed medications or medication errors, skin breakdown, weight loss, or poor hygiene – is one of the most common reasons families seek help from a home health aide.

In these cases, home health aides can help your loved one get up, bathe, get dressed, manage minor incontinence, brush their teeth, and prepare and eat nutritious meals. Likewise, at the end of the day, a home health aide can help your loved one get cleaned up and into pajamas for bed.

To learn more about home health – including whether it might be a good solution for your parent or loved one – give us a call today at 480-563-2402.