What are the top care needs for seniors?

Care needs are the specific areas that you’re looking for caregiver support with. For seniors, these can range from general, non-medical support, like companionship, to more specific tasks, like assistance with bathing, medication reminders, or transferring from bed to chair. 

Identifying care needs for yourself or your loved one helps you determine how much care you are looking to hire and helps you tailor your Herewith caregiver search to reflect the types of care you need right now. If your needs or preferences change, you can always work with your caregiver to adjust the services they provide or call our team if you find yourself needing additional support. 

The top 6 care needs for seniors

In general, in-home senior care covers non-medical support with personal care needs, but each care recipient will have their own unique situation, especially regarding things like mobility and or use of specialized equipment. 

Herewith has created six easy categories for a broad variety of care needs, so you can select the ones that are applicable to your situation, helping you get the best caregiver matches to choose from. The categories for care needs are: 

1. Help around the home

2. Companion care

3. Personal care

4. Transportation

5. Mobility support

6. Specialized support

Let’s take a closer look at these categories. Remember, if you’re not sure what kind of care you need or would like complimentary assistance finding caregiver matches, you can call our Herewith Experts anytime, at 415-506-9776, or visit our complete guide to hiring in-home care for a little more information.   

Help around the home

On the Herewith platform, this category includes basic household tasks, such as tidying and light cleaning, laundry, changing bed linens, meal preparation, pet care, and performing errands on behalf of the care recipient, such as grocery shopping or going to the post office. 

Once you have hired your caregiver, you can assign specific tasks related to this and other  categories. For example, you may task your caregiver with doing laundry on Tuesdays, meal prep at 4 pm daily, taking your loved one for a walk three times per week, etc. Your caregiver can then check off each task as it’s completed. 

Companion care

Companion care often goes hand-in-hand with help around the home, as caregivers provide company and conversation while performing household tasks. In addition, caregivers can help plan and/or accompany care recipients to social activities, as well as simply spending time together in conversation or doing the care recipient’s preferred activities. In the case that the care recipient’s loved ones are far away, companion care can be an important factor in preventing or reducing the risk of isolation, anxiety, and depression. 

Personal care

On the Herewith platform, personal care includes support related to hygiene (for example, showering or bathing), dressing, toileting, brief changes, and eating/drinking. These areas can be some of the toughest for family members and older adults to face together, as emotions of frustration, embarrassment, fear, guilt, or deep-rooted family dynamics can make it hard to ask for help—or, in some cases, to set boundaries of what the family caregiver is able to provide. It can be beneficial to bring in a professional caregiver with experience in this kind of support, reducing stress and risk of injury. 

Transportation

Caregivers can provide essential support connecting care recipients with resources in their community, outside the home. Most commonly, caregivers do errands on behalf of the care recipient, such as grocery shopping, post office runs, or going to the drugstore. Caregivers can accompany care recipients to appointments, but may not assist with medical decisions. 

Mobility support

For older adults with limited mobility, a caregiver experienced with mobility support can be very helpful. Such caregivers are familiar with the correct way to transfer a care recipient between the bed and wheelchair or other seating arrangements. Support and supervision with movement can help prevent injuries and accidents for those who are at high risk for falling, those who use a scooter, wheelchair, or walking aid, or those who require sitting to standing assistance. In addition, caregivers can help maintain a safe environment, keeping the living space free from clutter and tripping hazards, and even provide support with light exercise and OT/PT if needed. 

Specialized support

In some cases, it might be necessary for a caregiver to have experience with a particular kind of care or special equipment. Some types of specialized support include memory care (dementia or Alzheimer’s), hospice care, bedbound care, post-stroke care, support with limited range of motion, and familiarity with proper usage of special equipment, such as a gait belt or lifting device to support mobility and transferring. In-home caregivers with these skills provide a valuable service in offering family members respite and covering gaps in care. 

How care needs can help your caregiver search

To customize your caregiver search, share your care needs with our team so we can help find candidates that can do the kinds of tasks you need support with. Reach out directly to our team of Care Experts at 415-506-9776 for help getting started. Or visit our online portal to sign up and start your search on your own.