Does Your Parent Need Live-In Care or Night Care?

Caregiver in Falls Church VA: Do You Need A Caregiver For Your Senior?

Caregiver in Falls Church VA: Do You Need A Caregiver For Your Senior?

Being a family caregiver means making decisions for your elderly loved-one that will help them to address their individual needs, challenges, and limitations and maintain the best quality of life possible as they age in place.  One of these decisions is what type of care arrangement is right for them.  If they have more extensive challenges than just needing a couple of hours of assistance each day, you might have thought that they would benefit from having a care provider in the home with them at night.  This brings up the question of what type of care at night would be best for them.  The two basic options are live-in care and night care. Evaluating the differences can help you to make the decision that is right for them.


Live-in care
involves a care provider being in the home with your senior 24 hours a day. In this type of arrangement, two to three care providers will divide the days of the week and care for your parent for between one and four days at a time before switching to another of the providers.  While the care provider is in the home 24 hours a day during their period of service, they have the expectation of getting a full night of sleep each night and having a few hours of personal time each morning and evening.  In this type of care, the care provider will be able to wake up to provide urgent or emergency care, but should not be expected to assist or provide care at night on a regular basis.  This type of care provider is appropriate for a senior who would benefit from additional companionship and knowing that someone is in the home, but who does not need consistent care at night.

Night care is a complement to day care.  In this type of arrangement, a care provider who cares during the day will get off of duty in the evening and then the night care provider will come into service.  This care provider will provide care throughout the night and will remain awake and alert during this time.  This is right for an elderly adult who has frequent or consistent challenges at night that will require additional care, such as wandering tendencies, needing help getting to the restroom, or Sundowning.

What are the benefits?
Being a family caregiver for an aging adult can be a tremendous challenge.  Elderly care can help.  Despite popular belief, having an elderly home care services provider is not just beneficial for those seniors who are of very advanced age or those who have extensive care needs.  While these seniors can certainly gain benefits from this type of care, it can also make a tremendous difference for younger seniors and those who only have mild to moderate needs.

The highly personalized services that this type of care provider can offer your loved-one can help them to save time and energy, fulfill basic activities of daily living and personal care needs, and remain more active and engaged when they are no longer able to drive. This can help your parent to stay safer, healthier, and more comfortable while also preserving more of their independence and autonomy throughout their later years. Because there are various different types of care and this care will be arranged on a completely customized schedule, you can feel confident knowing that there is an arrangement and care style that will specifically address your parent’s individual needs and your needs as their family caregiver.

Are you or a loved-one considering hiring a caregiver in Falls Church, VA? Please call the caring staff at Medical Professionals On Call today.
Contact: 703-273-8818

Michelle DeFilippis