Home Care NYC: Living At Home With A Chronic Condition
Chronic diseases are the leading causes of disability in the U.S. Sixty percent of Americans have one or more chronic conditions. Forty percent have two chronic illnesses. The risk of having a chronic condition increases with age.
Many older adults live with chronic diseases. Living at home with a chronic condition can be difficult for your loved one. Home care can help. Family and professional caregivers help seniors manage their condition and enjoy a better quality of life.
Here, we answer some important questions about managing chronic health conditions at home in New York:
- What is a chronic condition?
- What are the challenges of living with a chronic health condition?
- How does home care help people with chronic illnesses?
- What are the benefits of working with New York City or state home health care agencies?
- How can I find the best home health aide?
If you reside in New York, you have free access to Trualta for even more information about home care, chronic conditions, and caregiving. If you live in another state, you can check if you also have free access to Trualta.
What Are Chronic Health Conditions?
A chronic condition is any long-term illness. It’s usually considered chronic when it lasts a year or longer. Many chronic conditions go into remission and recur periodically. You can manage a chronic condition and its symptoms, but there is often no cure.
Seniors have a higher risk of developing a chronic condition. Some of the common chronic illnesses in this population include:
- Hypertension
- High cholesterol
- Obesity
- Kidney disease
- Heart failure
- Depression
- Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Arthritis
- Coronary heart disease
What Are The Challenges Of Living At Home With A Chronic Condition?
Many seniors want to age in place. You and your loved one probably hope to delay the move to assisted living or a nursing home. A chronic health condition can be a barrier to staying home and being independent.
Several challenges interfere with the ability to live independently:
- Physical limitations, like pain or mobility issues
- Managing multiple medications with potential side effects
- Mental health symptoms
- Managing medical care and communicating with doctors and nurses
- Inability to drive or use public transportation
- Social isolation
How Does Home Care Help Manage Chronic Conditions?
Home care helps older adults, and those with chronic conditions live at home longer. Home health care includes family caregivers and professionals. Professional caregivers include personal care aides, home health aids, and nurses.
People with chronic health issues benefit from different types of health care and personal care services. These are some of the most important benefits.
Managing Health
This is the most important support home health workers provide. Living well with a chronic condition depends on staying as healthy as possible by:
- Going to medical appointments
- Taking medications correctly
- Monitoring symptoms and taking vital signs
- Communicating with doctors or nurses
- Monitoring mental health
- Following a routine and personalized care plan
Helping With Activities Of Daily Living
Being able to manage daily activities is essential for independence. A caregiver can help your loved one with chronic health issues live at home longer. They do this by ensuring your loved one can bathe, get dressed, eat healthy meals, and more.
Encouraging Healthy Lifestyle Habits
Eating well, exercising, and other healthy habits are important for a good quality of life. They are harder to prioritize with chronic health conditions. Your loved one’s caregiver can help them with these activities.
For example, mobility issues make it difficult to be active. Activities may be limited with a chronic health condition. Even so, it’s important to get some amount of exercise safely.
Caregivers help their clients get active by supporting mobility. This might include providing transportation to specialized fitness classes or helping them go for a short walk.
Supporting Social & Mental Health
It’s easy to become isolated when living with chronic health conditions. Your loved one may also struggle with mental health symptoms because of their physical health. Pain, physical limitations, and other factors can increase the risk of depression or anxiety.
A home care provider or family caregiver provides companionship. They reduce social isolation and support good mental health. They also improve opportunities for socialization by helping the care recipient get out of the house and engage in activities.
Improving Safety
Safety is a common reason to transition to an assisted living or nursing home. Chronic conditions can make it unsafe to live alone. Home care workers can make it safer. They reduce the risk of accidents by helping their clients manage their health and navigate daily tasks.
Benefits Of Working With A New York Home Care Agency
As a family caregiver, you can do a lot to help your loved one. But there are also benefits of working with a home care agency to hire professionals for senior care, personal care, or nursing care:
- Home health care agencies ensure caregivers are qualified.
- They do background checks on caregivers.
- Professionals offer a variety of services, including medical care, that family members may not be qualified to provide.
- A home care agency can provide a caregiver for respite care, even on short notice.
- Professional caregivers supplement the care provided by family members.
How To Find Quality Caregivers
New Yorkers have options for finding quality care for a family member. Start with the New York State Department of Health, which lists licensed and certified home care agency profiles. Use the profiles to choose a home care agency.
The agencies provide different types of care providers for their clients. These include personal care aides, home health aides, and even nurses. Determine what type of care your loved one needs. Then, you can talk to a home care provider about choosing the right type of caregiver.
Choosing home care for a loved one with chronic health conditions is important. Talk to more than one agency and ask questions. For example, you can ask about how they hire and train care providers.
Trualta has a lot of information about home care and how to use these services. If you reside in New York, you have free access to Trualta. If you live in another state, you can check if you also have free access to Trualta.
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