Taking care of your loved ones with early stages of dementia can be easier to manage. However, as time progresses, their symptoms can worsen and become difficult to control. To help out, supportive care, such as in-home care services, can be the perfect solution. In fact, hiring a dementia home care service enables patients to remain in their homes while getting customized care according to their symptoms and unique needs. Also, dementia home care ensures your loved one’s health, safety, and comfort throughout the care-providing time without having to travel.
Whether patients need assistance for a few hours a day or 24-hour home care depends on their condition. Generally, 24-hour care may be required during the middle stages of dementia or when their symptoms get worse.
It is unsafe to leave dementia patients alone even for short periods due to the following reasons:
During the first two weeks, visit dementia patients frequently and stay as long as you want. After that, visit three times a week for 20 minutes.
A CT scan might show some changes in the brain, but patients do not exhibit any symptoms.
Patients may start forgetting words or misplacing objects due to the disease or normal aging process.
Patients suffer from short-term memory loss. Therefore, they misplace or lose things frequently, forget new persons’ names or what they read, and cannot make plans or organize things as usual.
Patients may become disoriented to place and time and lack interest in attending social events, meeting people, and other things they previously enjoyed. They exhibit symptoms and require clinical diagnosis of dementia at this stage.
Due to the severe cognitive decline, patients experience difficulty bathing, wearing clothes, and remembering basic information, such as their address and contact number.
Patients suffer from severe memory loss, anxiety, and confusion and might require assistance to go to the washroom.
Patients completely depend on others even for accomplishing their routine activities like eating, sitting, and walking. They experience difficulty speaking and loss of bladder and bowel control.
During end-stage dementia, your loved one’s abilities become limited, and their needs increase. Generally, they:
Yes, they have to pay for home care, but the cost varies depending on the required care and services. If the person living with dementia is unable to make payments, then some facilities accept Medicaid. If you foresee a current or future Medicaid requirement, discuss with a lawyer specializing in elder care before moving into a care home to ensure a proper financial plan for payments.
Yes, Medicare will cover some care costs, including hospice care delivered in the home and care planning services for people recently diagnosed with dementia.
Enrolling in Medicare Special Needs Plans (SNPs) available for individuals with dementia will provide more benefits. However, only Medicare beneficiaries with dementia can enroll in these plans.
Contact us today if you are looking for the best and personalized home care for dementia patients
