Making Seniors Comfortable with Personal Care Assistance
Receiving personal care assistance can be humbling for seniors, but these tips can help!
Stop for a moment to close your eyes and imagine yourself like this: You have spent most of your life taking care of and helping others – as a mother or father, in your profession, through volunteering in your neighborhood, and as a grandparent. After spending your whole life being independent and making your own decisions, you now have aged to the point where it’s you in need of help with bathing and other care tasks. Imagine the sense of loss, vulnerability, and fear that comes from needing personal care assistance.
If you are taking care of an older loved one, it can be helpful to place yourself in their shoes when experiencing challenges related to receiving personal care assistance. The struggles aging loved ones face are real, and a bit of patience and empathy can make a world of difference for them in promoting a sense of peace about receiving your help. Let’s face it: permitting someone to assist with such personal services as bathing, dressing, and bathroom needs is unpleasant at best, and may feel as though dignity is ripped right away from the person if not handled sensitively.
Endeavor In Home Care is no stranger to these concerns about personal care assistance, and we suggest keeping the SMILE concept in mind to help these delicate circumstances feel more comfortable for both you and your senior loved one:
Safety: Adaptive equipment such as grab bars, electric razors, a bathtub seat, and a handheld shower can be helpful.
Modesty: Make sure there is privacy in the room and maintain modesty as much as possible.
Independence: Allow older adults to preserve the ability to make choices, to express their own personal style, and to do as much as possible independently.
Levity: Be accepting of imperfection. Make it fun.
Etiquette: Treat the person with dignity, as a respected adult.
Endeavor In Home Care’s professionally trained, experienced Phoenix home care specialists offer respectful, considerate assistance with personal hygiene for aging adults. Our caregivers are compassionate, fully trained, and background checked – so you have peace of mind in knowing that a senior loved one is always safe and secure in our care. A few of the various ways we can help include:
- Light household chores and laundry
- Bathing, getting dressed and other personal hygiene assistance
- Accompanied transportation for errands, appointments, and fun activities
- Meal planning and preparation
- Mobility assistance
- And much more – customized to each individual’s specific needs
Contact us any time online or at (480) 498-2324 to arrange for a free in-home assessment and to learn more about how our elderly care in Phoenix and the nearby areas can help make life easier and more comfortable for senior loved ones.
