While it is true that you should never compromise on cost when it comes to providing in-home care for your loved ones, it is also true that these services don’t come cheap. Many in-home care agencies try to exploit your ignorance by quoting a hefty amount when you choose an in-home care plan from them. Some costs that they charge (such as injections, medicines, wheelchair assistance, grooming help, etc.) are unavoidable, but some other costs can be curtailed, thus saving you a lot of money.
In this article, you will get to know what these costs are and how you can make a good deal while choosing in-home caregivers for the elderly members in your family.
- Make maximum use of technology
In most of the cases, seniors require in-home care only for companionships and household work such as cooking and running around for errands. We will address the companionship point in a later section of this article. For household work, however, you can take the help of agencies such as meals on wheels and home-delivery meal sites. You can arrange for the meals to be delivered on time to the seniors, without any hassles.
In today’s modern age, you can also take the help of online shopping to get household stuff delivered at their location, promptly. This way, they don’t need an exclusive in-home care provider to cook and go out shopping for them. You can save at least 20% of in-home care costs this way.
Another common reason why we think our seniors need in-home care is because they need to be constantly monitored, especially if they are staying alone. You don’t need an in-home care provider for that. You can monitor your loved ones easily with the help of cameras and security systems installed all around their homes. You can keep a close watch on them even when you are far apart and get instant alerts on your smartphones regarding their well-being.
If your loved ones require in-home care only for companionship, you can easily replace it with frequently visiting them and talking to them around thrice a day through video calls. The companionship that you can give your parents can never be matched by an in-home care professional. So, take an effort to connect with them frequently so that they don’t feel lonely at all. This will save you close to 20% of your in-home care costs.
- Make your home compatible for seniors
You can modify your home in such a way that seniors don’t have the risk of falling. There are many home modification programmes available in all the geographies in the world. If the senior is dependent on you, you can also claim tax benefits for the in-home care costs that you incur and for the loan that you take for making your home friendly for them.
- Compare before you decide
When you compare the services and cost structure of at least three in-home care agencies, you will be in a better position to get the right deal. Yes, cost shouldn’t be your prime concern when you are looking for in-home care programs for your loved ones, but when you have a chance to pay less for more, why would you want to leave it?