Thirteen (13) Ways Home Care Can Help Seniors Stay Safe at Home during the Pandemic

Thirteen (13) Ways Home Care Can Help Seniors Stay Safe at Home during the Pandemic

The news regarding the pandemic is forever changing.

The infection rates, COVID-19 positive cases, and deaths associated with St. Louis nursing homes and senior communities in 2020 have drastically decreased as we move forward in 2021. Home was definitely the safest place for seniors to be in 2020, if it was at all possible for them to stay at home.

With the vaccinations of the elderly population, we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.  Nevertheless, caution is warranted.

The vaccines do appear to protect against critical illness and death, however they do not appear to insure no infection at all.  And with the new variants and strains spreading across the country, one should proceed with caution in putting ones we serve in situations with risk of infection.

It has also been reported that as high as 60-70 percent of staff in long term care facilities have refused to get the vaccine. We of course hope those numbers will decrease as staff see the vaccines have few side effects.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/nursing-homes-make-big-push-to-change-minds-of-workers-who-refused-vaccine/ar-BB1cPiVh?ocid=msedgdhp&fbclid=IwAR3bSDUI7EiABbsy6RYJOmtU-E4u51Qw_x-DbowzryC_506Ssvw0cliEy10

https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/coronavirus/hospital-and-nursing-home-workers-in-missouri-are-choosing-to-delay-getting-the-covid-19/article_0745c834-c396-5ba3-a30f-7cd8c30c926a.html?fbclid=IwAR3fJ_vBx_BP1jlPLJmGD1OWgHJANE1pdrplDwHmS16UoQgXVJLAPBqkvWg#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

If a senior can hold off on moving to a communal environment, they may be safest at home at this time.  Without home care assistance many seniors or compromised persons would be required to consider moving into senior or communal living facility.

StaffLink’s caregivers can help your senior or compromised family member to stay safe at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.  StaffLink can provide assistance that will allow the most frail person to remain in their home.  Here are the services and support that you can expect from our in-home caregivers:

Sanitizing your home.  Our caregivers will work diligently to sanitizing your home.  We will make sure to clean counters, tabletops, doorknobs, light switches, remotes, toilet handles, faucets and phones.

Hands-on personal assistance.  Our caregivers will provide hands-on personal assistance to those that need help with bathing, dressing, grooming, or ambulation.

Ambulation and transfer assistance. Our caregivers will provide hands-on assistance with walking for those that are a fall risk.  We will us a gait belt as required. Falls are a leading reason that seniors end up in the hospital and in rehabilitation centers.

Our caregivers will provide hands assistance with transfers as required.  From bed to wheelchair, from wheelchair to bath, from bath to toilet, from toilet back to wheelchair, from wheelchair to dining chair, from dining chair to sofa, from sofa to wheelchair, and back to bed.

Our caregivers are competent in using hoyer lifts and other assistive equipment and devices in safely transferring clients.

Medication assistance.  Most seniors are taking multiple prescriptions. Our caregivers will assist the senior in taking medication on a consistent daily schedule.  Adherence to a medication regiment is a prerequisite for reducing emergency room visits by seniors.

Physical exercise. Our caregivers will work with our senior clients in exercising, including walking with assistance, continuing a daily exercise regimen that may have been designed and recently conducted with a physical therapist. Routines may include various calisthenics and range-of-motion exercises. It is important for seniors that wish to continue to age-in-place stay as strong as possible.

Hydration and fluid monitoring. Another reason that seniors frequently end up in the emergency room is dehydration. Seniors sometimes just do not make sure that they are taking in enough daily fluids.  Our caregivers will encourage our seniors to drink water and other appropriate fluids to stay hydrated. They will monitor and document that intake.

Light housekeeping and laundry. Besides previously mentioned sanitizing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, our caregivers will conduct light housekeeping that is related to the care of our client and laundry for our senior clients on an ongoing basis.

Meal preparation and dining companionship. Our caregivers will prepare meals for our clients in compliance to the senior’s dietary needs and requirements. Our caregivers will sit and eat with our clients. Studies have shown that seniors eat more when they have others eating with them.  Our caregivers are required to bring their own bagged lunch.

Shopping and stocking up. If required StaffLink personnel can shop for our senior’s household.  For a number of reasons, shopping is a task that our Certified Care Manager often takes on versus one of our individual caregiver. It is also a task that some of our out-of-the-area families choose to address by doing on-line shopping or grocer delivery services.

Help combat isolation and loneliness.  Our caregivers will help our senior clients stay in touch with family and loved ones.  Whether family members are out of town, or in town, but choose to reduce visits to keep the senior or compromised member as safe as possible, the caregiver will help their  client stay connected to family as much as possible through technology.  Also, presence of and engagement with our caregivers helps the client feel less isolated and combats loneliness.

Giving peace of mind to family members. Having our caregivers provide  required support to the senior or compromised person, gives peace or mind to out of town family, or in town family members, that know additional care is necessary.  The caregiver is also a constant set of eyes and ears who can notify family members of changes in the client’s physical or mental health.

Reliable referrals and connection to resources. Our agency can provide referrals to a variety of services that may be helpful, such as additional Care Management, home lab services, professional organizers, handyman services, appliance repair, lawn services, etc.,

And finally, we will provide proper personal protective equipment.  We will provide our staff with the mask, gloves, face shields and other equipment as deemed necessary, like gowns, goggles and more.

If possible stay home and stay safe!

For more information on our services visit: Types of Homecare Service in St. Louis by StaffLink (stafflinkusa.com)

 

 

Gretchen Curry, MSPH