Are Home aides the future of home care?

A UPI story reports that a new model of home-based care for older adults has been found effective, efficient and less expensive than traditional care. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to UPI “The home-based care model, developed by the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, both in Indianapolis, involves two teams. A support team, consisting of a nurse practitioner and a social worker, meets with each patient at his or her home and conducts an initial comprehensive geriatric assessment from the medicine cabinet to the kitchen cabinet.”

The second part of the support team are home aides who take over after the initial support team concludes their services. This eliminates the anxiety among seniors and family caregivers that worry about the next stage in recovery. Home aides will be able to help seniors and caregivers follow the directions for recovery, including medication monitoring, ambulatory issues, taking patients to their physician, and keeping family caregivers apprised of their loved one’s recovery and ongoing care. Seniors living alone can be stressful, home aides help reduce the stress and create a safe home environment.