Managing medications can be the key to helping seniors avoid a nasty fall, but often seniors need additional support with this issue. Family caregivers may not be able to help as much as they would like or seniors may live alone, even finding themselves homebound. That’s when home health care can step in and offer a lot of support. This type of care can help seniors to address the concerns that might lead to a fall.
Managing Medications
Medications are crucial in terms of helping seniors and other patients to manage health issues well. But they often come with side effects, some of which might make it easier for someone to fall. Part of managing medication correctly involves making sure seniors are taking medications properly, at the right times and in the right dosages. Home health care providers can streamline the medication process for seniors, ensuring they’re taking what they should, when they should.
Assessing Fall Risks
Often seniors don’t realize how close they are to taking a nasty fall. They don’t see the safety issues that are part of their home environment or they don’t realize how important their fall risk factors are to pay attention to. And then there’s the fact that medications can make them feel well enough that they might not realize they’re not steady on their feet. Home health care can educate patients and family caregivers, helping them understand what the big potential problems are and how they can be avoided.
Prioritizing Fall Prevention
This attention to detail helps home health care providers help seniors to prioritize fall prevention. If they’re able to work with a physical therapist or start a gentle exercise program, for instance, that might be the first step in the fall prevention plan. Evaluating possible home modifications is another piece of the puzzle. Tackling those projects can help seniors be safer at home almost immediately.
Personalizing Plans for Movement
Every senior has different needs and abilities around movement. Some aging adults may need assistive devices like a cane or walker while others may gradually be able to increase their ability to move safely around their home without needing assistive devices. Neither is a better solution because what really matters is what the individual patient needs most. Home health care providers work with doctors and other specialists to personalize those plans.
Helping with Ongoing Monitoring
These plans take time to yield results. Home health care providers work with their seniors to stay on target and move closer to their goals. They help to keep medical providers and family caregivers informed about what is helping and what isn’t. All of this data helps to ensure that seniors get the help they need and that they’re able to improve their fall risk factors.
Medications do so much good for seniors. The key is to stay alert for side effects and other issues that might make a fall more likely. Home health care providers can take the guesswork out of medication management for seniors while also helping them to keep their goals in mind.
If you or an aging loved one is considering home health care in Rockville, MD, please contact the caring staff at Care At Home today. 301-970-9706
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