Caregiving for your beloved elderly is a big responsibility, especially for those of you who have full time commitments such as family and a career.
Balancing these responsibilities and ensuring your elderly one is not left out can be taxing and somewhat exhausting for the caregiver.
The retired elderly might not need round the clock care as much as a high dependency elderly person would.
However, they will still need ample care and attention for their mental health.
The need for companionship
The need for companionship and a person to confide in is often unfulfilled when their children are busy with their work schedules and other responsibilities.
A common scene that can be observed is the number of seniors who are waiting for their medical appointments or doing grocery shopping alone.
While they might be physically and mentally capable to do these activities on their own, there are many risks that they can face when they are alone.
These risks include being robbed, being a victim of snatch theft, falling down or worse experiencing a sudden stroke.
Always safer to have someone around
It is safer to have someone around to accompany them to do the activities they like, but with the work obligations of the children, who can be their substitute companion?
Care companion is a new service introduced by Care Express, which offers short-term companionship or an escort for the elderly while they are doing their outdoor activities.
The Care companion package includes physical care such as grocery shopping, escorting to a medical check-ups and appointments, and helping to take the elderly person to a community centre so they can enjoy themselves socializing with other seniors.
These companions are committed to providing a presence in your senior’s life to accompany them safely and become a link between the elderly and society.
Care companions are committed and passionate
They are passionate in providing emotional companionship and other situations such as assisting the elderly person with physical care such as lifting groceries or other heavy items.
How many times have you faced a situation where you are not allowed to apply for leave to send your parents to a hospital appointment or had to cancel a prior engagement due to your elderly loved one’s dialysis session?
Or being stuck looking for a parking spot at the hospital and resorting to dropping off your elderly parent at the lobby alone while you look for an available parking spot?
All these situations can be frustrating for the caregiver and that is where care companion can provide solutions.
They can accompany and stay by the elder’s side
Instead of dropping your elderly parent to wait alone while you search for a parking spot, the care companion can help to book a grab or taxi ride to the hospital together with the elderly person to save on precious time.
The care companion can accompany the elderly to their appointments and stay by their side to monitor them.
Furthermore, they can also act as chat buddies for the seniors to keep them from feeling lonely.
It is definitely not easy to entrust our loved ones to the hands of strangers, which is why care companions are people who are carefully selected by the service providers.
They undergo a thorough background check and are equipped with the basic knowledge on how to carefully handle the elderly.
At its core, a care companion is just like what the name suggests – a companion, someone to care for your elderly person and to exchange life experiences with.
This article was written by Fariza Kasani, a Care Manager with Care Express, and reviewed by Andrew Mastrandonas, Co-founder and CEO of Care Express, a company that provides a range of elderly at-home caregiving services, sending trained and certified professional caregivers and nurses to clients’ homes. For more information go to Care Express.