Services when the Adult Lives at Home

When the individual with health challenges lives at home, either in his or her own home, or in the home of another family member, what services are available to the individual and family care givers? There are several types of services that may be of assistance. Adult day care centers provide a safe and enjoyable environment for the individual to spend all or part of the day, on a regular schedule or only occasionally; the individual receives appropriate care and socializes with other individuals in attendance and the care giver has time to go to work, to visit the doctor, to shop or to relax. Non-medical home care services are sometimes called companion, sitter or homemaker services. These services place a care giver in the individual’s home to provide non-medical assistance, which can include meal preparation, assistance with dressing, light housekeeping, medication reminders, transportation to shopping or medical appointments, companionship and supervision. Medical home care provides a higher level of care, which can include medication administration, hands-on assistance with bathing or using the toilet, wound care, companionship and supervision, transportation to medical appointments and other nursing services. Respite care is care intended to relieve the family care giver of his or her care giving responsibilities, perhaps only for a few hours, or, if desired, for a few days. Adult day care can be used to obtain brief periods of respite. In-home non-medical or medical care can be arranged to provide blocks of care, again ranging from a few hours to a few days. Please see the Adult Day Care, Home Care - Medical, Home Care - Non-Medical and Respite sections of our web site under this topic. Hospice and palliative care services (see separate section under Long-Term Heath Care Options) can be brought into the home, or may be provided in residential care facilities. Hospice and palliative care services provide assistance when an individual has been determine to be terminally ill (often defined as being more likely than not to die within the next six months) or when the individual’s goal is to manage the pain and symptoms of the illness, as opposed to an aggressive attack on the illness (an example would be a cancer patient who might refuse further chemotherapy, but who needs assistance to manage pain so that he or she is comfortable). All these services can be used by an individual living in his or her own home. These services may increase the individual’s independence by making him or her less dependent on family and friends. They may make it possible for the ill individual to remain at home for a longer period of time safely, and, for the terminally ill individual, to perhaps remain at home for the remainder of his or her life. In addition to persons with obvious physical care needs, individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias are also excellent candidate for the use of in-home services, particularly the companionship and supervision provided by non-medical home services in the early stages of a dementia or the supervision and support offered by adult day care.