Ways That A Home Health Aide May Feel Like A Member Of Your Family
Posted on: 14 February 2018
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When you hire a home health aide to care for an elderly family member who lives with you, you can expect that the aide will help with grooming, medication, physical exercise, and much more. What you might not expect, however, is how the caregiver can grow to seem like a member of your family. This is especially true if you mainly rely on one specific caregiver, rather than a team of them, and if the caregiver is with your family for an extended period of time. Here are some different ways that the caregiver can begin to feel like a valued member of your family.
Constant Presence
There's little question that your caregiver may begin to feel like a family member simply because of the hours that he or she spends under your roof. If your elderly parent is living with you and receiving the care, you may notice that the caregiver spends more time in your home than your teenagers do. Because of this presentation, it's easy to get close to the caregiver. Even though he or she is always on duty, you'll find that you slowly begin to converse more with the caregiver and get to know each other.
Appreciation For Assistance
It's only natural that you'll feel close to those who help you, and this will definitely be the case with your caregiver. Prior to arranging this care, you likely looked after your elderly family member yourself. Now, with the caregiver taking over this role, you'll be able to take a step back. You won't be able to help feel a high degree of appreciation for the hard work and tender care that the home health aide is giving your loved one, and this can make him or her seem like a family member.
Involvement In Private Moments
There will likely be a lot of private moments in which the caregiver is the only non-family member who is present. For example, if your family member has a health problem, it's common for a family to rally around him or her. With a caregiver, however, your family won't be alone — you'll have a healthcare professional to not only look after your loved one but keep the rest of you up to speed with what is going on. There will likely be moments that you'd never have a non-family member involved with, and the presence of the caregiver at this time can make him or her feel like a family member.