According to a 2018 AARP survey, 80% of adults over the age of 50 express a desire to remain in their homes and communities as they age. For those in the home care industry, these findings come as no surprise. Home not only represents familiarity but comfort and security as well. During the pandemic, the home has also been seen as a safe haven for older adults who, due to age and any pre-existing health conditions, are at a higher risk for developing serious complications from COVID-19.
During a recent episode of Help Choose Home, we hear from Jeff Wiberg, CEO of Family Resource Home Care, which has been serving residents of the Pacific Northwest for 54 years. Jeff has been in the home care field since 2008, and as you’ll learn in our discussion, he is passionately committed to helping people access care at home.
We discussed:
- The wide variety of care available at home
- How professional home care services are paid for
- The value of home care services
- The role of home care organizations in helping educate families on a variety of care options
Here are some highlights from our conversation:
For Jeff Wiberg, a silver lining in the pandemic has been the growing awareness of home care, both among consumers and within the healthcare industry, as an important part of the healthcare delivery system. With seniors and other vulnerable populations needing to practice self-quarantine, home care has emerged as a hub through which services can be coordinated.
In addition to helping bring community partners together to provide ongoing care at home, Jeff indicates that people are also learning about the wide variety of services that fall under the home care umbrella. Along with companionship and assistance with personal care needs, home care can also help with more specialized medical tasks. As Jeff points out, diseases and disabilities have not taken a break during the pandemic, and those in home care have continued to provide exceptional preventative care.
Jeff mentions that oftentimes families don’t know how or when to access home care. Typically, home care is seen as a post-acute service; that is, helping an individual transition home after a hospitalization or surgery. Jeff would like to see this shift and for people to view home care as a pre-acute service, providing the preventative and proactive care management and coordination necessary to help older adults remain safely at home.
According to Jeff, educating the public about home care is one of the most important roles of those in the industry. Helping to explain not only the value of home care services but how services are paid for are two of the most important messages. As Jeff tells us, care in the home, especially for individuals with dementia, can play an important role in slowing the progression of the disease. Home contains deeply rooted memories, and by enabling individuals with dementia to remain at home, it helps them better preserve memories and function for longer periods of time.
After listening to this episode, you’ll come away with a deeper and more nuanced view of professional home care and its role in helping people age in place and enhancing quality of life.
Listen to this episode here, or on Apple Podcasts, Google, YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.
To learn more about how professional home care can be a wonderful partner for family caregivers, listen to the Help Choose Home interview with Gary Barg. Gary is the editor-in-chief of Today’s Caregiver magazine and as a family caregiver himself, he understands the important role professional home care plays in helping older adults age in the comfort and familiarity of home.
If this episode has been helpful, be sure to leave a five-star review and share the podcast with your friends to help us in the national effort to educate about home healthcare options! You can connect with Merrily Orsini on Twitter: @MerrilyO.
Sponsors
The Help Choose Home podcast series is a collaborative effort by Axxess, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC), and corecubed to educate the public about the many benefits of the in-home care industry, which includes non-medical home care, private duty nursing care, medical home health, hospice, and other in-home health and wellness services.
View the full Help Choose Home podcast library here.
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