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Whether Dad needs help around the house for a few weeks after he’s discharged from the hospital or Mom requires around-the-clock dementia care, in-home care can meet these needs and everything in between.

Best of all, home care enables aging loved ones to live as safely and independently as possible in their own homes.

In-home care services are flexible

One of the biggest advantages of home care services is that they can be customized to accommodate unique needs. This care option can be increased or dialed back as an elder’s condition declines or improves.

In-home care plans are evaluated regularly and evolve along with changes in client’s physical and mental health.

While the difference between unskilled and skilled care is an important part of deciding whether to hire in-home services, it is also helpful to understand that home care can be provided with different timeframes in mind.

Elder care companies offer both short-term and long-term home care services so that individual care plans can be adjusted to meet a senior’s needs.

Below are brief descriptions highlighting the differences between short- and long-term home care.

What is short-term home care?

Short-term home care services can last anywhere from a few days to a couple of months while one is recovering from an illness, injury or surgery. In these instances, home care is a temporary service.

For example, some home care companies offer special short-term service packages to help people make smooth transitions from the hospital back to their homes. Generally, Medicare only covers short-term home healthcare services that a doctor deems medically necessary.

Depending on a person’s needs, one or more professional caregivers may be assigned. A “custodial caregiver” can provide unskilled assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) and household tasks like bathing, dressing, walking and transferring, laundry, light housekeeping and meal preparation.

Ensuring that a loved one is taking their medications as directed, eating nutritious meals, and does not have to handle chores will help them recuperate faster.

Skilled home care (often referred to as “home healthcare”) includes services like wound care, administering medications, monitoring vital signs, physical therapy, speech-language therapy and occupational therapy.

For example, following a stroke, a visiting physical therapist might be needed on a short-term basis to help one regain their balance and coordination.

Of course, an in-home care company can provide both unskilled and skilled services simultaneously, depending on a person’s needs. Once the user has recovered, these services will no longer be needed.

It is important to mention that some of us do not make a full recovery after a medical setback. What was supposed to be temporary support at home may evolve into a need for long-term in-home care.

What is long-term home care?

Long-term in-home care services are best for those who are disabled or living with chronic and/or progressive conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, lung disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

In these instances, regular assistance and care are required, and the client’s needs are likely to increase. People who wish to continue living at home but need help doing so often make in-home care services a permanent part of their routines.

Most family members have no experience or training in caring for a chronically ill person at home. Even assisting with ADLs can become very challenging and time-consuming.

Skilled nursing tasks, such as injections, wound care, changing a colostomy bag, suctioning secretions from a tracheotomy tube or monitoring a ventilator, are often more than most family caregivers can safely take on. Around-the-clock supervision and higher levels of care and training may become necessary.

In these cases, home healthcare is hired on a long-term basis until the patient’s needs exceed what can be provided in the home.

In theory, the same level of care provided in nursing homes can be provided by professional caregivers in a home environment. However, 24/7 home care is pricey — especially when needed for an extended period. Many families eventually decide that in-home care is no longer the best option.

Services usually conclude when a person moves to a higher level of residential care, such as an assisted living facility, a memory care unit or a nursing home. [Ed. Note: At the same time, there are occasions when a resident of one of these facilities may also want to hire a part-time home care aide, for example, during a period of recovery from a hospitalization.]

Hiring home care services

Finding the best type of care for an aging loved one can be tricky. Regardless of whether services are intended to be temporary or permanent, in-home care can keep people happy and healthy in their own homes, and can often delay or completely prevent the need for a long-term care facility.

Do your homework, ask lots of questions and learn as much as possible about your loved one’s health status and current and future needs.

If you’ve determined that in-home care is the right fit, you’ll want to seek referrals from physicians, friends and family members and begin the interview and in-home consultation process with providers in your area.

This article was originally published by AgingCare.com. It has been reprinted with permission.