Talking to your loved one about in home care can be a rewarding experience if approached in the right way. The most important thing to remember is that in home care isn't just about any particular individual; it's about the whole family. Everyone involved in the care of an elderly family member has a significant emotional and time/resources investment that should be taken into consideration, but ultimately the person's needs who matter the most are those of the senior in question. Learning how to talk about in home care with your loved one might make the difference between principled resistance and grateful acceptance.

Prepare Yourself with Information

If you need help caring for an elderly loved one, in home care is likely the best solution possible - and one that most families can afford. But there are a number of questions that your family will naturally want to ask when you broach the subject, and if you can't provide accurate answers your idea may be dismissed. Therefore, the best place to start is by contacting a professional in home care agency. You'll want to ask the following:

How much independence will be retained?

Who are your employees/caregivers, and how are they selected?

Can you provide relief/vacation care when other caregivers are temporarily away?

What services are provided? Incontinence care? Medication management? Feeding/grooming/mobility, etc?

Is the in home care provider trained to handle emergencies?

What type of contract or service agreement is provided?

Is the agency properly licensed and insured?

What happens if the assigned care provider isn't able to work as a result of illness or other problems?

What are the fees/costs?

What happens when the level of care needed changes?

Will in home care progress to hospice care, or is that a separate service we'll need to arrange?

There may be other questions that you and your family will want to ask, so consider taking some notes about what those concerns are to be sure they are all thoroughly addressed when you make the call to your local in home care agency.

Talk to Other Family Members First

Before having a serious discussion about the options available for in home care with your loved one, it may be wise to mention the issue to key family members and obtain feedback. Regardless of their specific opinion on the matter, keeping everyone informed and openly communicating about the need for help with senior care is a critical part of the decision making process.

It may be helpful to approach the subject from the standpoint that anyone involved in the direct daily care of your loved one is bound to develop a certain level of companionship with them. In fact, leading professional in home care agencies provide companionship as a fundamental part of their services. Therefore, the entire process should be a well-informed concerted effort because of the personal aspect involved in the care of your elderly loved one.

To learn more about how to talk to your loved one about in home care, please refer to Part 2 in this article series, where we'll discuss how to explain things to your family, the senior in question, and how to successfully integrate a caregiver into your home. The first step is the most important, and that's the fact that you've begun gathering information.