Palliative care is similar to palliative care in its holistic approach. This type of care focuses on relieving pain and healing with more natural forms of care. Older adults may also need help with personal care. This includes everyday activities, also called “activities of daily living”, such as bathing, dressing, grooming, going to the bathroom, eating and moving around, for example, getting out of bed and sitting in a chair.
To provide self-care support, a family member, friend, or trained caregiver may be able to help for a short period each day. Senior care is a generic term for a wide range of services aimed at helping older people live as comfortably and independently as possible. Examples range from basic transportation, cooking or cleaning to complex medical care. To be clear, it's not unusual for home health care providers to also provide custody care during their home visits.
Fees for paid caregivers vary widely, depending on their skill level, the services they provide, and where the older person lives. In other words, they provide care management services rather than providing practical care on their own. That person could help deal with creditors, pay an older person's bank account bills, or learn about Social Security or Medicare benefits. This type of care may also be called personal care or ancillary care, although these terms don't refer exclusively to care provided at home.
The care provided is largely based on shared decision-making and is based on the patient's goals and preferences, which can range from preserving function, improving quality of life, or extending years of life. If the elderly person can no longer stay in their home and needs to be admitted to a facility for care, the costs increase accordingly. For example, some government programs will help pay for skilled nursing facilities, but not home care. While both types of care are provided in the person's home, home care generally means that care is provided in custody or non-specialized care.
Geriatric care managers (GCM) help families create and implement long-term care plans for their loved ones. Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty that focuses on providing care for the unique health needs of older people. This usually includes an in-person needs assessment, the development and review of a care plan, and the organization and monitoring of care services. Medicaid sometimes provides care management services under an HCBS (home and community-based services) exemption program.
Older patients can receive care related to medication administration, pain management, psychiatric and memory care, rehabilitation, long-term nursing care, nutrition, and different forms of therapy, including physical, occupational, and speech. The care model practiced by geriatricians focuses primarily on working closely with other disciplines, such as nurses, pharmacists, therapists and social workers. In addition, interventions aimed at reducing the dependence of older people on their families can help to reduce conflict and abuse.
