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The pandemic has continued to place a tremendous amount of pressure on so many people across the country and the world. One group who has had it the hardest, and are also the most affected by it, are the elderly. They are the most at risk, but also the most in need of assistance and caregiving. Many families and services have had a difficult time figuring out how to provide proper care.

Since the beginning of the pandemic earlier this year, we at Coastal Home Care have trained and outfitted our certified caregivers with everything they need to continue performing excellent senior companion care services to our patients throughout Sussex County, DE. We have also added numerous procedures to our operations to prevent any chance of infection, such as daily screenings and regular virtual communication among staff.

Below, we discuss how the virus can spread and ways to prevent it from doing so to keep your elder loved ones safe and comfortable during this time.

Ways COVID-19 Spreads

Those who have caught and been infected with COVID-19 can spread the disease, even if they no longer have or seem to have never received serious symptoms of it. Here are some of the ways that the coronavirus has spread:

• Prolonged close contact, usually within six feet.
• Contact or inhalation of breath or water vapor after a cough or sneeze.
• Contact with high-touch or potentially infected areas, then touching sensitive areas that could lead to infection, such as the face, eyes, and mouth.

How to Protect Your Elders from COVID-19

As we grow older, we become more susceptible to serious illnesses. According to the CDC, 8 out of 10 adults who received a severe illness from COVID-19 were over the age of 65. This means that our elders are at higher risk than most others, which requires us to be more careful and vigilant when providing them care. Here’s what elder caregivers should do to keep their loved ones safe from any potential harm from the coronavirus:

• Perform proper social distancing procedures with your elder, especially if you are aware that you or someone with you have been showing symptoms of COVID-19.
• Avoid touching your face, eyes, nose, or mouth, especially if you haven’t sanitized and/or have been in a high touch area.
• Clean and disinfect any shared objects or surfaces.
• Wash your hands often for at least 20 seconds with soap
• Stock up on medicine and groceries to reduce the amount of trips you take outdoors.
• Stay home as much as possible, since doing so is a vital way for your elder loved one to remain safe and protected.
• Always wear face masks and gloves whenever you and your loved one are outside of your home to ensure you both are protected from spreading or receiving infection.

Coastal Home Care: Quality Senior Companion Care in Sussex County, DE

Giving care to our elders has become a significant challenge due to this pandemic. However, in following the tips and procedures listed above, you’ll at least be able to provide comfort and safety for your senior loved one. We at Coastal Home Care can help, as well, as we continue to provide reliable senior companion care to families and elders across Sussex County, DE. Our registered nurses and caregivers are trained to combat the virus while providing the essential elder care services that are needed now more than ever.

Contact us at (866) 687-7307 for more information about our companion care services today.

For many people, parents are role models who help to shape their decision-making processes. Parents teach right from wrong, healthy from harmful, and how to care for oneself. However, aging parents can get stuck in their ways and may ignore the very advice that they offer to you. 

If you’ve noticed that one of your aging parents struggles with chores and self-care, you should reach out to Coastal Home Care. We offer numerous at-home care options so that your loved one can remain self-sufficient in their own house. Our patients throughout Sussex County, DE, receive companion care services, Alzheimer’s or dementia care, hospice support, or medication management. And these services aren’t one-size-fits-all. We create a “Plan of Care” for each patient to promote personalized, flexible support that fits your parent’s needs. 

Here, we outline the shifts in daily tasks, moods, or conditions that could signal a need for companion caregiver:

Changes in Physical Appearance and/or Activity

You may first notice some bodily changes in a parent. Sudden weight change, for instance, may attest to a struggle with cooking, diet, or grocery shopping. Likewise, poor hygiene and sloppy appearance can speak to difficulties with self-care. 

Daily activities may change as well. A parent might start struggling with routines: bathing, dressing, toileting, or even moving around. Likewise, a sudden loss of motivation or interest in hobbies suggests that they struggle with doing these formerly amusing endeavors. 

The prospect of a senior care center tends to alarm older adults, as they equate it with a loss of autonomy. But Coastal Home Care services promote aging in place, where seniors can choose to live and age in their own homes. Thus, in hiring us, you can assure your loved one that they don’t have to give up their home. 

Changes in Behavior and/or Mental State

Oftentimes, the most difficult part of watching a parent age is to see their struggles with moods and mental health. Coastal Home Care offers Alzheimer’s and dementia care specifically for such struggles. Still, you and your family must remain alert for symptoms of these conditions. 

Along with a general loss of interest and motivation, your loved one may struggle to keep track of time. This frustration, in turn, can increase their confusion and anxiety. Such mood swings are unfortunately common for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. 

Sleep cycles tend to shift as well. A senior parent may start sleeping into the day, which in turn affects their mood and energy levels. They may also start forgetting to call family members back – again, loss of memory is a distressingly common symptom. 

Changes in Their Household

Even if your loved one insists that they are fine, their home may indicate otherwise. After all, taking care of a house or apartment takes a great deal of work. If your loved one struggles with it, the burdens stack up quickly. 

The most obvious indicators will be mess and clutter: dirty dishes and surfaces, spoiled food, piles of unopened mail, and so on. Additionally, general upkeep tasks like lawn care, snow removal, or trash collection may be noticeably incomplete. 

These concerns are particularly distressing at a time like now, as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 situation. Our caregivers can help with some light housekeeping for their patients. Plus, with daily testing for themselves and their patients, our senior companion care during COVID-19 helps to keep your family safe. 

Compassionate Companion Care Now Available In Sussex County, DE

When a parent ages and shows signs of physical and mental constraints, you can turn to Coastal Home Care for personal care. Our comprehensive companion care, Alzheimer’s and dementia care, hospice support, and other services are available for Sussex County, DE, residents. With us, your loved one can age in place, sustain their quality of life, and remain independent. Call us at (302) 752-1800 or fill out our online form to schedule a consultation. 

Recovering from surgery is difficult for anyone, but it’s especially hard on elderly folks. Seniors need more time to heal and are prone to injury and infection during their recovery. However, they must also continue with their daily routines for mental well-being.

If you want to help a loved one sustain a comfortable recovery, hire a trained caregiver from Coastal Home Care. We provide all forms of home caregiving including dementia care, hospice support, and attentive post-operative care to seniors throughout Sussex County, DE. Our personalized, high-quality service has made us a trusted name in caregiving.

Here, we describe 4 ways you can help your loved one have a speedy recovery after a surgical procedure:

Organize Their Home For Their Needs

After an operation, it will be difficult for your elder loved one to move around his or her (or your) home as normal. It will also be difficult for him or her to reach for important items like phones, remotes, plates, glasses, and more. A crucial aspect of post-surgery care involves reorganizing to accommodate the needs of the patient.

First, you should create open paths throughout the home’s interiors by arranging furniture to clear obstructions in your loved one’s way. Also, move any rugs or other items that present a falling or tripping hazard.

Then, ask your loved one for the things he or she needs and place the key items within his or her reach. Later on, offer to get any other items. And if you live in a two-story home, create a comfortable sleeping area on the ground floor so your senior loved one won’t risk him- or herself by going up or downstairs.

Plan Out What Your Elder Needs

Before the surgery, try to have everything your loved one may need on hand. Discuss with their physician what the likely effects of the surgery will be and what equipment or other items he or she will need for a comfortable recovery.

Make a list of the items and purchase them according to the needs of the patient. Planning in this way will ensure both a faster and easier recovery for your loved one as well as a less strenuous experience for you and any caregivers.

Attend Follow-Up Appointments

Another way to facilitate a faster recovery is by attending your loved one’s post-op appointments. Although he or she may not have memory issues, the doctors may give overwhelming amounts of details about conditions, recovery needs, and medicine. Hearing all this first-hand can help you accurately remember these details later on.

Plus, attending appointments with your loved one provides you a chance to ask his or her doctor about questions and concerns you’ve had when taking care of them. You can get the answers needed to ensure you continue giving the best care possible.

Ensure Support in All Circumstances

Finally, recognize that not all circumstances are the same. You can manage some challenges, but there will be others where professional help is required. That’s when you’ll want a friendly and expert caregiver from Coastal Home Care.

Our nurses provide all manner of post-operative care and form personalized care plans that suit each patient’s needs. Hire a trained post-operative care nurse and discuss your loved one’s preferences to ensure they get the care they need.

Coastal Home Care: Dependable Post-Operative Care in Sussex County, DE

Seniors struggle with recovering from surgery, but they can return to full health and a higher quality of living with the right support and caregiving. At Coastal Home Care, we aim to ensure that all of our patients get the best personalized post-operative care possible. We also provide other home care services to patients and their families throughout Sussex County, DE. Our quality services are flexible and affordable for almost any schedule and budget.

Contact us at (866) 687-7307 to learn more and make an appointment with one of our trained post-operative caregivers today.

Everything gets a bit more complex when a loved one has Alzheimer’s or dementia. All of the sudden, he or she may be confused or forget schedules and plans. And such forgetfulness may upset or depress your loved one. At that point, you must decide whether to be a devoted caregiver yourself or to hire outside help.

Recently, these conflicts gained a new dimension: COVID-19. Now, you must reduce your loved one’s risk of infection from both the outside world and yourself. Instead of trying to manage this burden alone, turn to Coastal Home Care. We proudly provide reliable Alzheimer’s and dementia care to folks in Wicomico County, MD. Our home care services allow your loved one to live where they choose, and our updated care methods will help maintain their health.

Here, we discuss how Alzheimer’s and dementia care can help ease the dangers posed by COVID-19:

Our Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care

First, let’s outline our standard care practices for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. We strive to help them enjoy their independent lives by focusing on specific concerns:

• Instead of solving all issues at once, we work through daily obstacles. We help patients to create routines and practices that help them manage symptoms and care for themselves.
• We also try to help patients feel comfortable. The memory loss that occurs with Alzheimer’s and dementia can make them feel baffled and depressed. So, we tweak common tasks and give them chances for self-expression.
• We maintain our patients’ well-being. Dementia patients often wander or stop physical activities. Thus, we adapt patients’ homes for safety and prepare for accidents.

How We Have Adapted Caregiving for COVID-19

Next, let’s detail how caregivers adapted their processes for Alzheimer’s and dementia care in response to the pandemic. We have summarized the strategies for COVID-19 care on our website already, but let’s review them here.

We’ve added wellness checks to our routine duties. Now, both caregivers and patients are screened daily for COVID-19 symptoms. We also conduct mental health screenings on patients to address symptoms of loneliness and depression.

We’ve also boosted our cleaning procedures. Caregivers already helped patients with cleaning, but now they disinfect frequent-use surfaces including light switches, countertops, faucets, and so on. What’s more, caregiving now requires increased hand washing.

And since many families are protecting their loved ones’ health through distance, caregivers promote activity and connection. We help patients combat boredom by urging them to perform daily activities and hobbies as well as self-care. We can also help your loved ones stay in regular contact with Zoom and Facetime.

Benefits of Hiring a Dementia Caregiver during COVID-19

So, how can hiring a caregiver for your senior loved one help you (and the rest of your family) in the COVID environment? We’ve already posted advice on caring for elders during COVID-19 and how the pandemic might affect them. But our services suit Alzheimer’s and dementia patients particularly well.

Even though many families mean well by isolating their loved ones, this may confuse a dementia patient. So, our caregivers can remind them about the situation during visits. We can also check for symptoms while ensuring that we don’t introduce the virus ourselves.

Also, if your loved one has coronavirus symptoms, you and your family should avoid contact with them. A caregiver can get them to a hospital safely thanks to our training with infectious diseases. You need not endanger yourself or your family’s health.

Contact Coastal Home Care for Reliable Caregiving in Wicomico County, MD

In such a difficult environment, we know the challenges of an Alzheimer’s or dementia patient can feel hopeless. That’s why you should not take it on alone: by reaching out to Coastal Home Care, your loved one can receive professional Alzheimer’s and Dementia care at their home in Wicomico County, MD. Call us at (866) 687-7307 to discuss your options for home care. We’re available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week!