Geriatric home care is help given to elderly people in their residences. Generally, a care agency or company provides services that range from health monitoring to cooking and cleaning. Driving patients to and from medical appointments is another typical geriatric home care service. The costs of the care services may be paid for by the elderly person receiving them or by the government or a health plan.
Generally, a manager of a geriatric home care service hires personal attendants and assigns them to work in clients' homes. The type of care each senior, or elderly, client requires usually varies widely. Some seniors may need a daily check in, which may even be a telephone call, in addition to other less regular services such as transportation to appointments or yard work. Other elderly people who want to remain in their own homes, but need daily help, may choose to have a live-in geriatric attendant.
Live-in home care attendants for seniors usually have their room and board included in their salary. Typically, the live-in attendant providing geriatric home care has his or her own bedroom. He or she is usually responsible for keeping the house clean as well as cooking all of the meals and driving the senior to medical appointments. Bathing, dressing and toileting may also be required by the elderly client. Home care service companies match the qualifications of each attendant to the needs of every client.
Some geriatric care attendants have credentials in health and provide medical assistance when needed. They may record the elderly client's blood pressure readings or other information as well as get medication from the pharmacy for the patient as per a doctor's orders. Some geriatric home care aids are trained in medical techniques such as occupational therapy.
The main purpose of all levels of home care for the elderly is to assist seniors with the personal and household help they need so they can keep living in their own homes. Home care services for seniors allow them to live as independently as possible, while still letting them have the type of help they need. In this way, geriatric home care is a very personalized service. Companies in this industry must first carefully assess the exact needs of the elderly person as well as what tasks need to be done in his or her home. The attendants whose skills and credentials best meet those needs are hired by senior home care companies for each particular client and housing situation.