According to the official Government of Canada website, Canadians are advised to think ahead and take appropriate actions to stay healthy and prevent the spread of coronavirus. It’s especially important to take steps to reduce this risk for the elderly. If you have an older loved one in your family, here are six tips to keep in mind to reduce his or her COVID-19 risk as much as possible.
1. Have One Family Member Handle Direct Physical Care
For times when a senior needs direct assistance with tasks like grooming, eating, dressing, and bathing, one option is to designate a single family member to handle duties of this nature. This provides added protection for your loved one while still allowing him or her to receive the kind of care he or she needs.
Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of at-home care. Barrie families can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide individualized care plans to meet your elderly loved one’s unique care needs. Our holistic Balanced Care Method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia.
2. Keep Commonly Touched Surfaces/Items Clean
Pay attention to any surfaces and items your loved one uses or touches on a regular basis. Health Canada recommends using diluted bleach or household cleaners to thoroughly clean common surfaces/items, including:
• Countertops
• Toilets
• TV remotes and other electronics
• Door handles and bedside tables
3. Use Delivery Services
The risk of coronavirus varies from one community to the next. Even so, it’s advised that elderly individuals minimize their exposure to large groups of people, such as those found in busy grocery stores. Whenever possible, direct your loved one to home delivery services for groceries, meals, prescriptions, and household essentials.
To keep your loved one from having to go out, a home caregiver can run errands for him or her, including shopping for groceries and picking up prescriptions. If your aging loved one needs help managing everyday tasks or encouragement to adopt healthier lifestyle choices, turn to Home Care Assistance, a leading provider of senior care. Home Care Assistance provides professional in-home caregivers around the clock to help seniors live longer, happier, and healthier lives.
4. Help Your Loved One Connect Remotely
Regular social interaction is still important to reduce loneliness and provide healthy mental stimulation. Fortunately, today’s high-tech world makes it easy for older adults to remain safely connected with people they love. Some of the many possibilities include:
• Facebook and other easy-to-use social platforms
• Video chat platforms or apps
• Text messaging and emails
5. Encourage Everyone to Routinely Assess Their Risk
The last thing you want to do is unintentionally expose an older family member to a new virus like COVID-19. This can be especially risky, since one of the reasons coronavirus is so dangerous for the elderly is age-related immune system changes. If any members of your family have recently traveled, been in crowded areas, or experienced symptoms of any kind of illness, they should refrain from having direct contact with your loved one.
6. Consider In-Home Care
If you have concerns about being able to provide sufficient care for your loved one because of the way coronavirus is affecting your own life, in-home care is worth considering. It’s a safe option, since care is provided directly in your loved one’s home, which makes it easier to limit in-person contact. It can also be affordable, since care is only provided when it’s needed.
Families who find it difficult to care for their aging loved ones without assistance can benefit greatly from professional respite care. Barrie, ON, family caregivers who need a break from their caregiving duties can turn to Home Care Assistance. Using our proprietary Balanced Care Method, our respite caregivers can encourage your loved one to eat well, exercise regularly, get plenty of mental and social stimulation, and focus on other lifestyle factors that promote longevity. If your loved one needs professional care, Home Care Assistance is here to help. Call one of our dedicated Care Managers today at 647-970-3803 to learn about the high quality of our in-home care services.
With information surrounding coronavirus/COVID-19 changing by the hour, it’s challenging to stay updated on the most recent best practices for keeping seniors safe at home. At Home Care Assistance, we understand how critical it is for seniors and their caregivers to protect against coronavirus as much as possible. All our team members have received detailed communication on infection control protocols, including effective cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and hands. Our caregivers can pick up medications, groceries, and anything else a senior needs, minimizing their interaction with large groups of people. For more information on how Home Care Assistance helps protect clients, click here: https://www.homecareassistancebarrie.ca/covid-19-home-care/.