The purpose of companion care is to offer company and friendship. Companions may help with certain household chores, but their primary purpose is to spend time with the patient.
Grown children may want to hire companions to keep an eye on their aging parents. The main objective of companion care is primarily emotional support and socialization, although companions may help older adults with a variety of tasks including:
- Monitor diet and eating
- Stimulate mental awareness
- Companionship and conversation
- Supervise home maintenance
- Plan visits, outings and trips
- Running Errands
- Answer the door and phone
- Maintain calendar & diary appointment
- Assist with clothing selections
- Play games and cards
- Spending quality time
From taking away loneliness to ensuring proper nutrition, companionship care and homemaking have many benefits for patients. Here are just a few of the benefits these services offer:
- Mental (cognitive) stimulation
- Increased mobility due to transportation services
- Socialization and entertainment
- Improvement in health, both physical and mental
Safety supervision
How We Help You
When you Dial A Home Care, one of our professionals will visit your or your loved one’s house and provide a free assessment to determine your needs. Our professionals are very flexible and will partner with your family to determine the best schedule for companionship care and homemaking visits.
Companions typically make regular visits, which may vary in frequency depending on the care recipient’s unique needs. Usually, companions visit at least weekly, while some may visit two to three times per week or even daily to help older adults prepare meals, take care of laundry, and other tasks. Schedules may also vary depending on appointments. If an older adult has an appointment scheduled outside of typical visit hours, companions will often adjust their schedules to accommodate these needs or make arrangements for other transportation.
Benefits of Companion Care
Companions provide a variety of beneficial services that make life more manageable for older adults, but companionship itself is perhaps the most important, particularly for seniors who live alone and find it difficult to get out of the house. Older adults living independently often experience loneliness and isolation, and companions engage in conversation, take walks with their care recipients, and play games like card games or board games, and simply provide a listening ear and someone to talk to.
Likewise, by transporting older adults to the local community area for activities, to healthcare and therapy appointments, and other activities, companions help older adults remain active and engaged and also ensure that they’re able to receive vital healthcare services.
How to determine if your LovedOne Need Companion Care?
Older adults who reside independently in their own homes may eventually have difficulty managing everyday household tasks. Whether they experience a loss of mobility with aging or cognitive decline from the onset of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, companion care is often the first way families seek help to enable their aging loved ones to remain in their own homes.
If other family members work full-time or have other obligations, it can be difficult to ensure that a family member is always available to transport a senior loved one to regular doctor appointments and help with other errands like grocery shopping. These seniors, particularly if they no longer drive and lack access to convenient transportation, can benefit from companion care. Additionally, older adults who live alone and don’t have many friends or family members who make regular visits can benefit greatly from the socialization offered by a companion.
Companion care is a valuable benefit for older adults who face challenges in keeping up with daily household chores, are at risk of isolation, or need transportation to appointments and other locations. If your aging loved one wants to age-in-place, companion care is one of the most helpful services to enable them to remain independent, in their own home.