When our aging parents need quality home medical supplies in Gaithersburg, Maryland, they go to Jessa Medical Supply. That’s the easy part. Before that, when the time comes that a loved one needs help at home, the process of convincing him or her to accept help can be difficult. Most of us value our independence, and having someone come into one’s home to assist with such intimate activities as bathing and dressing can be a problem.

So, as our population lives longer, and our parents have more impairments with aging, the need for workers who can enable elders to stay in their homes increases. Most elders, if asked, would say that they prefer to stay at home, rather than move to a facility as they age. How do we keep them safe at home, when we must rely on others to provide help with activities of daily living?

AgingCare.com has got a list of concerns to keep in mind when searching for home care professionals.

  • Be Aware of the Risk of Abuse — Choosing a worker is taking a risk. It is important to be aware that with elders at home, it can be a crime of opportunity for the worker. Financial abuse affects millions of seniors, as most of us know. Preventing it must include a consciousness of protecting elders at home from those who enter the home freely and who work unsupervised for long hours.
  • Weigh the Costs Versus the Care — Choosing the worker is a different challenge. Many people, worried about the ongoing expense of having help at home, which can be as much as $27 an hour and up, seek helpers through the newspaper or general internet advertising. Invariably, it is cheaper to go this route than to use a home care agency to find a worker. We suggest that it is far more dangerous to hire a worker independently.
  • Do your research — Doing your own background checking on an employer agency providing home care workers is essential. Ask about the training and supervision of caregivers. Not all agencies provide this. Some use certified nursing assistants, and some do not. We believe that the extra cost of using established employer-model agencies is well worth the security they can provide to keep elders safe.

Follow these tips, and enhance your chances of safely using a home care worker to help an aging loved one stay at home. Visit https://www.agingcare.com/Articles/How-do-I-Choose-Home-Care-for-Elderly-Parents-137210.htm for more detailed information on choosing home care for your aging parents. Visit Jessa Medical Supply in Gaithersburg, Maryland for more than 15,000 high-quality products to meet diverse health needs.