Choosing between In-Home Elder Care Nurses or Home Care Helpers

If you are researching alternatives to placing your loved one in a nursing home, you may be wondering if in-home elder care nurses or home care helpers may be the best option. When people age and their healthcare needs increase, many prefer to remain in the comfort and familiarity of their own home rather than move into a long term facility. Very often, their family members prefer this as well because they can visit their elders in the family home and a suitable nursing home may not be conveniently located near them. At we understand the often difficult and emotionally challenging decisions that must be made when choosing how best to serve an elder’s needs in the twilight years of their life. We encourage family members to call us and discuss their concerns as well as ask questions of our staff about our in-home elder care nurses and the services that we offer.

The Struggles of Family Members Who Care for Their Elders

When family members can manage to care in part or in whole for their elder, many find it a physically and emotionally draining endeavor. And though their hearts are in the right place, in lacking the specialized training of in-home elder care nurses or home care helpers, they may be ill-suited to provide the level of care that the elder needs. This is especially true when it comes to medical needs. Though a home care helper can assist with daily chores such as bathing, dressing, and meal preparation, in-home elder care nurses have the medical training and experience to handle more complex issues. In fact, in-home elder care nurses are registered nurses or licensed practical nurses who provide quality nursing care in the patient’s home. Consider these points when comparing the professional abilities and skills of in-home elder care nurses to home care helpers:

•  In-home elder care nurses provide medical services and treatment that includes wound cleaning, respiratory treatment, emergency tracheotomies, diabetes diagnostic testing and administering of medications, colostomy care, medical injections, and much more.
• Home care helpers provide non-medically oriented services for an elder such as performing daily living chores like laundry, cleaning, shopping, food preparation, and companion care. Depending on the needs of the elder, they may also offer assistance with hygiene matters, and sleepover to be on call or else live in the home with the elder. They may be scheduled for days, evenings, overnights, weekends, or holidays if they are not full time in the home. On their days off, they may be relieved by another individual from the same agency who will temporarily take over for them.

Many families opt to hire in-home elder care nurses to provide medical care for their family members, with occasional visits from a home care helper to lighten the burden of family members. If you would like to know more about our in-home elder care nurses and learn whether or not this may be a good solution for your family, please contact us.

If you need legal advice about in-home care or nursing home care please contact an attorney, like a nursing home lawyer in Memphis TN.

Thank you to Darrell Castle & Associates, PLLC for their information on in-home elder care vs home care helpers.