In Home Care:

For our grandmother, this is the best option for now.  She is able to maintain her privacy, her own space without boundaries & a sense of independence.  She has a nurse that comes in twice a week, a physical therapist that comes in twice a week & I am there 5-6 days a week in one capacity or another.  Sometimes I stop in "just to visit".  We also have a few of her neighbors that "stop in for coffee" and they are able to update us if something isn't quite right. 

Up until today, I hadn't heard about Home Instead.  I like the name because it instantly tells you what they are about...In home care instead of a nursing home. 

I like the idea of providing companionship for the elderly.  Families often just need someone to check in on their loved one.  I know that our grandmother loves a new face & enjoys sharing stories with someone new.  It looks like they provide a wide variety of services, from companionship to travel assistance, bathing, meal prep, etc.  .  Trained staff, experienced staff...looks interesting.  Getting to the part about rates is difficult on the website.  Wishing there was a general page with some example rates so I could see if it is worth looking into.  I like being able to do research online before talking to someone.  It is a large company, or so it appears from the list of administrative people.  This could be good or bad.  Sometimes with large companies, the customer can get lost in the system.  A local company may be more able to provide personal service. 

I hesitate sending someone into grandmother's home that we don't know.  Even if it is a "professional" person, it is scary.  She cannot defend herself.  This is my main concern when considering any home health company.  There are so many horrible stories out there...UGH!

I feel like if grandmother needs daily help & we cannot manage it ourselves with the skeleton crew we have, a full time facility may be in order.  If everything is as it appears on the website, and it is affordable, it is a great option.  Those are my "ifs".  I would probably do major interviewing, call references, want to talk to actual customers & maybe even find someone I know who used them before making a move toward this option. 

Home Instead would probably be a terrific option for elderly people who do not have any family around or who's family is too busy to do the work themselves.  I cringe saying that because I often think that our family priorities need to be shifted if the elderly need assistance.  We shouldn't every be "too busy".  Incorporating this type of in home care with the addition of family member involvement is the ideal set-up. 

  

My advertisement:

"Choose Home Instead for your loved one's at home care.  We can be there when you cannot."