Companion Care Services Improve Independence
Written by Madison Serfas, Assistance Home Care, Community Social Strategist
According to AARP, the vast majority (75%) of seniors aged 50 and older wish to stay in their homes, or age-in-place. This blog explores a supportive care solution that empowers seniors to do just that: Companion care services.
What is Companion Care?
Companion care is a type of elder care service that supports both social and physical care needs while preserving one’s independence and abilities. It’s helpful to think of senior caregiver services as a spectrum that is able to meet older adults where they are. Due to the nature of companion care services it is often regarded as an ‘introduction’ to home care services.
This type of home care services isn’t just for seniors who live alone. These services can also be beneficial for older couples, especially when one spouse has taken on a role of the primary caregiver. A few hours of companionship care a few days each week provides respite that can really make a difference in helping spousal caregivers recharge and take time for themselves.
The Benefits of Senior Caregivers
When our Team meets with Clients and their families during a Discovery Visit for the first time, we ask them to walk us through what a day typically looks like. From there, we can start to identify some common areas where caregiver services could really make an impact. Let’s explore a few of the most common benefits that home care services can provide.
Supporting Independence: Caregivers can provide as much or as little hands-on support based on each client’s unique abilities without compromising independence.
Senior Companionship: Building rapport, sharing in meaningful activities and even just having someone to share a meal with.
Short-Term Care: Following a surgery, hospital or rehabilitation stay, seniors need to focus on regaining their strength! Caregivers can assist short-term during recovery and rehabilitation.
Personal Hygiene Care: While respecting one’s dignity, companion caregivers can promote good hygiene practices for their client and provide support when needed.
Household Support: Keeping up a household gets tougher as we age. A senior companion can lighten the load by helping with housekeeping, laundry, taking out the trash, and preparing meals.
Memory Care: Worried about a loved one missing medications? Caregivers provide an added layer of reassurance, redirection and reminders when needed for clients with dementia or memory loss.
Safety Oversight: Having a caregiver’s extra set of eyes and ears in the home as well as hands-on support when needed provides family members with peace of mind.
Maintaining a Routine: Senior caregivers can play a key role in keeping up with one’s daily routine, or striving to improve their current routine.
Family Caregiver Respite: Whether it be a spouse or adult child, having regular companion care respite allows family caregivers the time and space to recharge.
Staying Connected & Transportation: For active seniors who no longer drive, companion caregivers can provide support getting them where they want to go!
Companion care services are normally all-inclusively offered by providers, but it’s not always a one-size-fits-all. For some families, rattling off a list of benefits of all the things that a senior caregiver can do for them can be overwhelming. However, if one’s needs change, companion care is able to adapt and accommodate care needs in real time!
As we age, the idea of independence looks different for each person. The most critical part in a successful senior companion experience is communicating one’s top goals or expectations. Ensuring open communication with Home Care agencies allows for a much more personalized approach to one’s Companion Care experience.
How Senior Care Enhances Independence
Companion care’s ultimate goal is to enhance one’s ability to age-in-place with confidence. To adult children, these caregiver services may sound like a perfect solution for their elderly parents. However, it’s important to consider that seniors may not initially see it the same way.
A common misconception is that having senior care services means giving up one’s independence, or waving a white flag. It’s also not uncommon for seniors to have objections to needing elder care services. Educating your aging parent on the benefits of companion care and how they can enhance one’s independence is a key to dispel common objections and misconceptions about home care.
A common worry of seniors is rooted in the idea of becoming dependent on others, or put more plainly, becoming a burden on their family. Having intentional conversations with aging family members about their wishes when it comes time for them to need care can help ease the currently held stigma around ‘needing help’. Learning how to tactfully have conversations about in-home companion care can help shift one’s perception about their independence and the positive role that senior caregivers can help play in enhancing it.
Improving Lives With Senior Companion Care
Companion care is an invaluable in-home care service that empowers seniors and older adults to age-in-place and preserve their independence and comfort at home with caregiver support. To learn more about how Assistance Home Care can support your family with personalized companion care, contact us today at 314-466-3227 or visit our website to request a complimentary consultation for companion care.
About Assistance Home Care
At Assistance Home Care, we take pride in offering a range of specialized home care services that cater to the unique needs of our clients and their loved ones. Serving the Greater St. Louis and Chicagoland areas,, we offer a variety of care options to meet your loved one’s needs, from hourly visits or daily care, up to 24/7 care services. Connect with our Team today to learn more about how Assistance Home Care helps seniors and older adults age-in-place with compassion, dignity and respect.
About Senior Learning Institute
About Senior Learning Institute
The Senior Learning Institute (SLI) is dedicated to providing “the truth about everything senior” to older adults and their families. Through free monthly educational seminars held across the St. Louis area, SLI connects seniors and their advocates with trusted, unbiased information to support informed decision-making.
SLI is proud to partner with a select group of vetted businesses and organizations that share our mission of serving the senior community. These partnerships allow us to provide valuable resources and advocacy, ensuring seniors have access to expert guidance and services when they need it most. By bringing together industry leaders, municipalities, and educational resources, SLI empowers older adults to navigate life transitions with confidence and ease.