Home health care services range in size and scope, but they all provide numerous benefits for their elderly patients. They also help the relatives of these patients rest easy knowing that their older family members are being looked after and are able to maintain a higher quality of life. There are three primary components of home health care that allows these relatives to feel comfortable knowing that their older family members are in good hands.

1. Medication Compliance

There are several different reasons why people might not want to take their medications. These reasons range from often forgetting to take them, or even forgetting that they are there, a general suspicion towards medication, or the fact that the medication might be hard to access or is out of reach. A home health care specialist will be able to check that elderly patients have the medications and are refilling them in time to not have to halt treatment. They can also make sure that the medications are in easy-to-open containers, are clearly labeled, and are even separated into days of the week in the case when a patient has to take more than one medication. By providing these services, home health care specialists can make sure that any treatment through medication is being continued regularly and effectively.

2. Nutritional Assessment

Another component of home health care is making sure that an elderly patient is getting enough food and is getting all of the nutrients that are needed for health. This is very important because if the patient is undernourished, he or she will experience a deterioration of his or her condition and quality of life. A home health care specialist can determine if the patient is able to take care of all nutritional needs independently or if an outside service, such as Meals on Wheels, needs to get involved to provide this nutrition.

3. Education

Many patients and their relatives simply do not know what is best for a patient in a particular situation. In order to help this situation, home health care specialists can see which of a patient's needs are not being cared for properly and then educate both the patient and the relatives about how to improve. This education can increase a patient's quality of life, increase the speed of treatment, and prolong life.

For more information about how home health care can help your situation, contact a home health care specialist (such as Catawba County Home Health Agency).