Atlantic In-Home Care is a caregiver referral company dedicated to contracting caregivers who specialize in senior care for your loved ones. These caregivers recognize the importance of companionship for the elderly. The main goals of companion care include social and emotional support. But that doesn’t mean that is all these caregivers facilitate. For example, there can be a range of tasks that elderly care companions provide, which can include light housekeeping, medication reminders, aiding in grooming and bathing, and more.
Some of the most important effects that companion care can have on the elderly are clear in research completed by The National Institute on Aging. According to this 2019 study, there is a correlation between loneliness, social isolation, and adverse health effects. These adverse effects include high blood pressure, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and more. Dementia disorders, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, affect many seniors. The effects of something like Alzheimer’s Disease can be devastating. But it’s a progressive neurodegenerative disease; meaning it gets worse with time but many who receive the diagnosis have several years where they can function more or less as normal. Companion caregivers can keep tabs on such a disease and notify loved ones when the disease progresses to a state where more care is required.
Seniors are at higher risk for loneliness and social isolation due to immobility and the loss of family members. That is why companion care is gaining traction as a viable way to battle the loneliness and isolation of seniors. Seniors live in isolation at worryingly high rates. Over the course of our lives, friends and family move away. After we retire, we don’t even see co-workers anymore. You can find yourself at seventy living in a city with hardly anybody you know, with nothing to do and nowhere to go. This can be detrimental to ones health.
This sense of isolation can be truly damaging for seniors who live alone but even couples who live together can become isolated together. Companion care gives seniors somebody to talk to, somebody who will listen to their problems, or even just somebody with whom they can play a board game. This can have a remarkable positive effect on seniors’ well-being. With Atlantic In-Home Care, we offer companion care as a part of our regular in-home care services. The caregivers we refer are trained to facilitate both social engagements and support for daily living activities. That means these caregivers facilitate more than just companionship as a part of their daily tasks.
The day in the life of one of these senior companions can include interacting with clients on varying levels. This can range from assistance with daily housekeeping to engaging with seniors in brain games and activities in the afternoon. Companion care is becoming an increasingly important part of how our society cares for the elderly. This type of care facilitates a viable solution to deterring the negative impacts of social isolation and loneliness on seniors.
The prevalence of deterring these feelings is so widespread that there are now even elderly companion volunteer groups and companion programs around the United States. We at Atlantic In-Home Care follow strict guidelines on in-home care and the elderly so that we can facilitate you or your loved ones with the services you need. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us and we will work to meet the needs of you and your loved ones.