As your loved ones continue to age, your family is likely to face increasingly complex decisions regarding how best to protect their health, autonomy and well-being. Long-term care, including assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and in-home care services, can be a lifeline for both seniors and their support systems.
Whether complicated care situations arise suddenly (such as in the event of a stroke or heart attack) or develop naturally over time, the need for ongoing care that spans far beyond a single instance necessitates a long-term plan of action. Though at first it may seem daunting to arrange for this transition, the benefits are monumental as these holistic, proactive services work to keep loved ones healthy, safe and engaged for years on end.
What Defines Long-Term Care?
There are many different types of long-term care for seniors, all of which are geared towards assisting individuals with the medical and non-medical necessities required for living a rich, balanced life. When individuals can no longer perform routine self-care or the activities of daily living (ADLs) required to keep them happy and healthy, long-term care is needed to provide essential, ongoing assistance.
Long-term care can encompass everything from the management of chronic medical conditions and disabilities, to meal preparation, homemaking and companionship. Depending on an individual’s specific needs, long-term care can be provided in a number of settings, including independent or assisted living communities, nursing homes, or most conveniently through professional home health aides and private duty nurses.
The Benefits of Long-Term Care for You and Your Loved Ones
Long-term care works to benefit the whole family, by redistributing everyday burdens on family caregivers and rendering professional, specialized care around the clock.
Specialized Care and Chronic Disease Management
Whether your loved one is struggling with aging, illness, disability, injury, or disease, they will need a custom treatment plan tailored to their unique needs. One of the most common reasons for seeking out long-term care arrangements is to manage common old-age diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, which require a more specialized degree of supervision alongside a deep understanding of memory care and disease progression. Planning for long-term care proactively, rather than reactively as acute needs arise, allows for more consistent care delivery, and ensures that chronic illnesses are well managed by trained caregivers and your loved one avoids hospitalization or other acute distress whenever possible.
Enhanced Safety and Expertise
Long-term care professionals can offer individuals a greater degree of advanced, comprehensive and interdisciplinary services that many families cannot offer on their own. Professional long-term care reduces the likelihood of emergency room visits and lowers the rate of rehospitalization, leading to better overall outcomes for your loved one as they face health challenges down the line. This type of care ensures that your loved ones receive the right level of support and assistance, including help with daily activities, medication management, physical therapy, or medical supervision.
Increased Social Engagement and Interaction
Isolation and loneliness can take a significant toll on the well-being of any individual, especially when their loved ones live farther away and are only able to provide care from a distance. Long-term care facilities and professionals can often offer aging individuals a sense of community and regular social interaction that creates a positive impact on their mental and emotional health. Outside of communal living and residential facilities, at-home caregiver and companion services make it easy for aging loved ones to engage socially in familiar environments.
Utilizing Long Term Care Insurance Benefits
Many seniors, when planning for their future, purchased long term care insurance policies years ago that today equate to thousands of dollars of potential coverage. The only way those policies can be utilized to their full potential is to work with a licensed facility or home care agency and receive long-term care services. The policies help relieve the financial burden of long-term care and allow your loved one to reap the benefit they invested in for years.
Respite for Family Caregivers
Families often find themselves assuming primary caregiving roles, dedicating their time and energy to look after their aging loved ones. While this is an act of love and devotion, it can also be incredibly physically and emotionally taxing, leading to feelings of exhaustion and burnout.
By enlisting the help of long-term care professionals, family members can rest assured that their loved ones’ needs are being met while also allowing them to recharge, take care of their own health, and maintain a balance between their personal lives and caregiving responsibilities.
Improved Quality of Life for Seniors
Ultimately, the most significant benefit of long-term care is the improvement in the quality of life for the individual receiving care. Long-term care can offer assistance with transportation, mobility support, meal preparation, medication administration, shopping, homemaking and maintaining personal hygiene. These specialized and consistent care services provide the medical attention, social interaction, and emotional support that enhance your loved one’s overall well-being in the long run.
Receiving Professional Long-Term Care with
Alliance HomeCare
Alliance HomeCare is proud to be the New York metropolitan area’s leader in providing professional long-term care services for over 15 years. Whether your approach to long-term care necessitates 24/7 live-in care, or hourly care a few times a week, , Alliance Homecare has helped countless families navigate the long-term care process with empathy and peace-of-mind. Contact us today or give us a call at (646) 989-3936 to get your loved one the long-term care they deserve.
