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Staying at Home Longer

<p>While aging in place has benefits, you must still consider&nbsp;a few factors&nbsp;to see&nbsp;if it is the best decision for you. &nbsp;It could be challenging to&nbsp; age&nbsp;in place&nbsp;especially if you&nbsp;live alone or if you have to take care of a loved one at home. Thankfully, there’s help and you can make staying at home longer convenient and comfortable. The following&nbsp;mentioned below are&nbsp;some&nbsp;home care services for seniors can make aging at home easier for you.</p>

<h4>Home Maintenance</h4><p>House maintenance can take a lot of work. It’s not easy especially for older adults with limited mobility or health issues. There are home care services available for seniors such as gardening, laundry, shopping, housekeeping, or handyman work. You can also seek help from financial or healthcare professionals to take care of bills and your medical appointments.</p><h4>Transportation</h4><p>You can find home care services that can help you&nbsp;easily&nbsp;move from one place to another easier for you. Transportation can be challenging for seniors. Especially for people with sight problems, driving won’t only be&nbsp;difficult, but it can be dangerous, too as well.&nbsp;Thankfully, there are rideshare apps, transportation senior discounts, and plenty more other senior transportation services that you can use as alternatives for driving or needing to hire a driver.&nbsp; Check out these top&nbsp;<a href="https://www.finder.com/ca/apps-like-uber">ridesharing apps,</a> which you can use for easy and seamless transportation.&nbsp;</p><h4>Personal Home Care Services</h4><p>There are home health aides that can provide help to seniors when it comes to personal care. Activities in daily life like bathing, dressing, preparing meals are some of the custodial care most older adults need assistance. Some services can help you with personal care for a&nbsp;few hours per day to around-the-clock.&nbsp;These home health aides can also help with medical assistance such as blood pressure monitoring or medication reminders. &nbsp;To know more about available&nbsp;home health care options near you, please visit&nbsp;our website and search&nbsp;<a href="https://caredupon.ca/">here</a>.</p><h4>Health Care Services</h4><p>There are healthcare professionals who can offer help to seniors while they are at home. Social workers, caregivers, occupational therapists, and nurses are some of the trained professionals who can&nbsp;be&nbsp;with you and make sure you’re always in the best of health conditions. These health care services might need you to cover the cost out of your pocket.&nbsp;You can, however, check your insurance or health service if they can help you with the expenses.&nbsp; You can check the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/campaigns/seniors.html">website&nbsp;</a>of the Government of Canada for health&nbsp;services and financial assistance available for you.</p><h4>Adult daycare</h4><p>Daycare programs can help you maintain a healthy social life and keep you busy, while also allowing your caregiver to take a break. Most adult daycares are quite social, while some&nbsp;provide a few health services or specialize in some specific health conditions such as Alzheimer’s.</p>

Is it Right for Me? 

Help for Seniors Living At Home

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Staying Safe at Home

<p>Aging in the comfort of your home offers genuine benefits such as independence, freedom, and security. However, assessing the environment’s safety is also essential when you decide to age in place. To make sure that you are safe at home, below are&nbsp;some of our recommended tips to consider:</p>

<h4>Fall-Safe Home</h4><p>Make sure your home is free from&nbsp;potential&nbsp;fall hazards to reduce the risks of accidents as you age in place. You can do&nbsp;this by removing throw rugs and using safer options such as mats with rubberized backing. You may also want to de-clutter or avoid having extension cords across the floor. Creating a more open area is advised,&nbsp;too,&nbsp;which you&nbsp;can do by choosing less bulky furniture. You can&nbsp;as well&nbsp;reduce the risks of falling by&nbsp;opting to have the option&nbsp;of non-slip footwear&nbsp;or indoor shoes&nbsp;when you’re&nbsp;at home.&nbsp;</p><h4>Save Emergency Numbers</h4><p>If you find high-tech smartphones too complicated to use, you can always opt for more basic models – or&nbsp;stick a traditional post-it-note&nbsp;on the refrigerator. It's crucial to have&nbsp;easily&nbsp;accessible emergency numbers&nbsp;on your near you at all times. Apart from emergency numbers, you must also have contact numbers of loved ones or people you can rely on in times of immediate need. If possible, you may want to have another phone as a back-up and keep it in a&nbsp;certain place such as a&nbsp;drawer or the cabinet where it's easy to find. In your phones or notes, make sure to save the following:</p><ul><li>911</li><li>Caregiving service</li><li>Healthcare provider</li><li>Family and friends to contact in case of emergency</li></ul><h4>Fire Protection</h4><p>Make sure your home is always safe from fire hazards. You can do this by regularly checking your home’s smoke and carbon dioxide detectors. As long as possible, refrain from using candles, instead, keep flashlights in easily accessible areas. You should also check if the electric cords at your home are not damaged. Your home’s space heaters must also be 3-feet away from curtains, furniture, or beddings.&nbsp;</p><h4>Safe Bathrooms</h4><p>Make sure your bathrooms are safe by installing handles in the shower and&nbsp;by&nbsp;the toilet. Rubber mats are also essential to prevent slipping. You may also want to consider bathing chairs in the shower for a safer and more comfortable time in the bathroom. Removing bathroom mirrors may also help especially for seniors suffering from dementia.&nbsp;</p><h4>Safe Bedrooms</h4><p>You may also want to assess the safety of your bedroom by checking your bed mattress and make sure it’s comfortable and safe for your back. Installing a grab bar beside the bed won’t only be safe for you but it can also help you get up easier.&nbsp; &nbsp;Consider&nbsp;replacing round doorknobs with single-lever types which will make opening doors safer and easier for seniors.&nbsp;</p><h4>Safe Stairs</h4><p>If you have stairs at home, you can reduce the risks of accidents by installing railings or consider installing stairlifts. You can also increase the safety of&nbsp;staircases&nbsp;by painting the stairs with contrasting colors,&nbsp;so it’s easier to differentiate the steps with alternating color patterns.</p><h4>Right lighting</h4><p>Good lighting is important for seniors living at home. As it is common for older adults to have an impaired vision - having a well-lit house makes it a safer place to live. You can improve the lighting of your home by replacing old or burnt bulbs. You may also want to install more light fixtures, especially in darker areas. Installing motion detection lights inside and outside the house can also make your home a safer place as well as make your monthly electricity bill cheaper.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Asking yourself these questions can help you make sure that staying at home longer is safe for&nbsp;you. Answering the following can help you realize what home changes you need to do to make your place accident-free.</p><ul><li>Do you walk around furniture when walking across a room?</li><li>Are there throw rugs in your house?</li><li>Do you see clutter on the floor such as newspapers, magazines, shoes, and extension cords?</li><li>Are you seeing cords across the house floor?</li><li>Do you have a well-lit home?</li><li>Is it easy to differentiate your stair steps?</li><li>Is your bathroom safe from slips? Does it have safety handles in the shower area or the toilet?</li><li>Does the pathway to your bedroom have good lighting?</li><li>Do you keep your items in the kitchen on high shelves?</li><li>Do you have a steady step stool in the kitchen?</li></ul>

Home Safety Tips

Home Safety Questions for Seniors

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Family Care Givers

<p>A family caregiver can be someone who takes care of an aging parent, a child, a handicapped partner, or someone who looks after a family member out of kindness or love. Being a family caregiver is a challenging role. If you are a family caregiver, or if&nbsp;a loved one is looking after you,&nbsp;you must know that&nbsp;there are&nbsp;multiple&nbsp;ways to support&nbsp;to make caregiving easy and rewarding.&nbsp; Below are our recommended methods of support:</p>

<p>The support and help available for family caregivers will be beneficial for both you and your loved one. Attending to family member’s needs can be challenging, as even primary family caregivers can't do everything on their own. Not getting the support they need, may cause them to feel burnt out, and therefore, compromise the quality of care they provide. You can support a family caregiver by assuring their wellness using the following tips:</p><ol><li>Schedule a one-on-one talk with your family caregiver.</li><li>Come up with a list of your caregiving needs that you and your caregiver both agree on.</li><li>Ask other family members what they can contribute, for instance, financial support or some simple house chores.</li><li>Make sure both the person who is being taken care of and the person giving care understand&nbsp;which strategies are the most helpful for both sides.</li></ol>

<p>There are ways to get financial aid when taking care of a senior family member. Although it can be tricky and complicated, there are options available&nbsp;that allow a family caregiver to receive payment in exchange for the care they provide. You may consider the following channels that can give financial aid to family caregivers:</p><ul><li>Your own funds</li><li>Provincial Palliative Care&nbsp;Benefits Program</li><li>Compassionate Care Benefits Program</li><li>Disability Tax Credits for Care Recipients</li><li>Family Caregiver Amount (FCA) Tax Credit</li></ul><p>Learn more about the financial aids available for family caregivers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/family-unpaid-caregivers-financial-assistance/">here.</a></p>

Staying At Home Longer

Learn about your different financial options to pay and budget for senior care.

Staying at Home Longer

Staying Safe at Home

Family Care Givers