One day, you notice that your elderly father, living with you in Orlando, has slowed down and now needs help with even simple tasks. His condition has worsened—he struggles to walk to the bathroom and has difficulty getting out of bed.
He is also forgetting to take his prescription medicines, which is a very concerning issue. You have stepped in to assist, but at times you wonder if the support you provide is enough. For the past few weeks, you have cared for your father as best as you can, but doubts remain – will this be sufficient, or do you need an extra helping hand? This is where professional caregiver services Orlando can make a real difference. The demand for caregiving services in the United States is growing, with projections showing a rise of over 40% by 2026, as many older adults prefer to age at home.
With a professional caregiver by your loved one’s side, you can ensure their independence, dignity, and comfort. At the same time, you gain peace of mind knowing they are receiving quality care right at home. So, let’s explore at-home caregiving, starting with the types of services you can expect.
Types of Caregiver Services in Orlando
At-home care in Orlando typically includes services like personal care, medical support, meal prep, and respite care for family. Let’s take a closer look at these services:
Personal Care
An in home caregiver provides personal care, assisting with tasks like bathing, toileting, dressing, and hygiene. Most adults may face difficulty in doing these tasks on their own because of age, disability, chronic illness, or other reasons.
Mobility Support and Meal Prep
This involves assistance with walking, transferring, and using mobility aids such as walkers or wheelchairs. The care team also plans and prepares meals for the client according to their specific dietary needs.
Let’s take the example of Ariana, who used to cook meals for her husband after he suffered a stroke a few months back. She also helped him walk and drove him to medical appointments. But as his care needs grew and she struggled to manage everything on her own, Ariana decided to seek help from Elite Caregiving United. Their professional care team showed great commitment – supporting meal preparation tailored to his nutritional and medical needs and providing reliable transportation for appointments.
Medication Management & Health Monitoring
Caregivers remind clients to take their prescribed medications and assist with administration. They also monitor vital signs, symptoms, and other changes, and report them to healthcare providers.
A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society showed that nearly 50% of the elderly make at least one error while taking medications by themselves.
Household Tasks
Let the caregivers take on the light housekeeping tasks. When you hire caregiver services Orlando for your loved one, you can receive assistance with a range of tasks, including dusting, vacuuming, organizing living areas, making beds, and doing laundry.
Companionship Care
In companionship care, caregivers provide support and engage clients in friendly conversation and enjoyable activities. This type of care is especially worth it for older adults who live alone. When there is someone to look after, it can keep away the feelings of loneliness and depression – these feelings are very common in old age.
Transportation
Many elderly people require critical support to move around, which professional caregivers can provide. The caregiver services may include transportation to medical appointments, grocery shopping, and social events.
As per the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center, almost one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older don’t drive themselves. Lack of transportation is also among the top reasons for missed medical visits.
Common Caregiver Duties
A caregiver can assist a person in many ways, keeping in mind their safety and dignity. The most common duties of a caregiver can be:
- Assistance with grooming, bathing, dressing, toileting, and incontinence care (helping to use products like sanitary pads or adult diapers).
- Preparing healthy meals and helping with feeding when necessary. The caregivers stick to the client’s dietary needs.
- They perform light housekeeping chores, such as dishwashing, laundry, and cleaning, and also help with grocery shopping and occasional errands.
- Providing companionship and emotional support. The in-home caregivers encourage the care recipient to engage in conversation and participate in activities.
- Driving to medical visits and accompanying the person to social gatherings or events.
- Providing support to the recipient in taking their prescribed medications.
- Observing the person’s condition and reporting any changes to the family or health experts.
How to Choose the Right Caregiver in Orlando?
Hiring a caregiving service is not an easy task. Finding the right fit for your loved one matters, but it takes a bit of work. Here is what you need to check when deciding on a caregiver in Orlando:
Experience and Qualifications
It is important to check the experience of the caregivers you are looking to hire. Someone with years of caregiving experience will know how to handle various situations, from basic daily care to emergencies. They may also be familiar with the emotional and physical needs of individuals with specific conditions like dementia, Parkinson’s, etc.
Besides experience, check their certifications and education to assess their professionalism and skills. You must seek caregivers with certifications like Certified Home Health Aide (HHA), Personal Care Aide (CPCA), or Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Highly qualified caregivers can perform many complex tasks with ease that other caregivers can’t.
Availability & Schedule
Another important thing to consider is the availability of the caregiver you appoint. If their availability fits your loved one’s needs, then they are the ones you are looking for. Ask yourself if you need part-time, full-time, overnight, or live-in care and see what they have to offer. The caregiving team must be flexible to meet the required schedule.
About 40% of family caregivers spend more than 20 hours a week offering care, which can be challenging to manage without external help. This information comes from a study by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
Communication Skills
When the caregiving team communicates well, it builds a sense of trust. So, it is an important factor to consider while searching for a caregiving service. With clear communication, everyone stays informed about the recipient’s condition and any changes in their needs or daily routines. There will be no misunderstandings, and family members can feel at ease when raising concerns or asking questions to the care team.
Client Reviews and References
Connect with previous clients who have received services from your potential caregiving agency. Take their feedback, and also leverage internet sources. Check out reviews and ratings about their services on platforms like Google, Yelp, or HomeAdvisor. Gather genuine insights into the agency’s reliability and the quality of its caregiver services Orlando.
Trial Period
Nothing is more important than the safety, comfort, and well-being of your loved one. So, you can consider setting up a trial period with the caregiver. The trial period is basically the initial phase where you can see the caregivers in action. You can observe how the care team interacts with the family and takes on the everyday caregiving tasks. All this helps you identify the personality, professionalism, and reliability of the caregiving team.
Compassion and Empathy
What else do you need to see in a caregiving team? The caregivers you hire must also be compassionate and empathetic. Being a caregiver goes beyond completing tasks; it demands patience, kindness, and genuine care to improve the recipient’s quality of life. Showing empathy means to step into another person’s shoes and truly understand their feelings. Compassion, on the other hand, drives the caretakers to take action to alleviate suffering.
Take your time and do your homework thoroughly to make a well-informed decision. At the end of the day, what matters is the health, safety, and peace of mind of the ones closest to you.
Elite Caregivers United: Orlando’s Most Reliable Home Care Agency
Providing support to a loved one should never mean sacrificing your comfort and independence – this is the belief of Elite Caregivers United. We are a trusted home care agency operating in Orlando. For years, we have been supporting elderly adults and individuals suffering from disabilities and chronic illnesses.
Our caregiving squad focuses most on the comfort, independence, and dignity of every client. Orlando families praise us for our responsiveness, timeliness, and professionalism. Many of our previous clients have shared their positive experiences and satisfaction with our services.
What makes our caregiving services the best in the market?
- Highly-Experienced Care Team: We possess unmatched expertise and are skilled enough to provide the most dedicated care and support. Every member in our team delivers reliable care tailored to the client’s special needs.
- Genuine Reviews and Ratings: We have been receiving positive feedback from our former clients as well as consistently high ratings. On various online platforms like Google, many families have shared their reasons for trusting our caregiver services Orlando. Here are a few reviews that you can look at:
- Compassionate Caregivers: Our caregivers take a compassionate approach, building strong and supportive relationships with clients. This promotes comfort and ensures that the care recipient leads a healthy life ahead.
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Get the most trusted caregiving services in Orlando by Elite Caregivers United. Connect with us now and ease the burden by passing on the caregiving duties to our experts.