Licensed companies help seniors age in place

Kelly Hutchison, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care franchise in Elk Grove Village, has seen the world with a new set of glasses since his father’s long decline and subsequent death and his mother’s struggle to care for him at home.

“I watched my mother’s struggle and it taught me how important it is for people to have access to individual care in the home if that is their choice,” Hutchison said. “I saw the respect my mother had for my father and the dignity she gave him and I believe that other people deserve that same type of care, even if no one in the family can give it personally.”

So he researched home care franchises for seniors and in 2004 he bought the Home Instead franchise that covers western Cook County and northern DuPage County. His is one of 16 Home Instead franchises covering the Chicago area and among 600 nationwide.

Home Instead and other such home care companies in Illinois are licensed as home service companies and provide nonmedical care like cooking, cleaning, running errands, medication reminders, assistance with bathing, toileting assistance and other personal care, Hutchison said.

“Our caregivers come from varied backgrounds but most have been homemakers who know how to multi-task and manage a home — skills which are easily transferable to a senior’s home,” he said.

“They all have the heart, compassion and ability to provide quality care to a senior who needs it,” Hutchison said. “The majority of our caregivers are females, although 15 to 20 percent are males. Most have families that are old enough to do without them for extended periods of time now and many have cared for their own elderly parents.”

Home care offers one-on-one care of the senior by a trusted companion who learns his or her food and other preferences; can tell if the senior has had a good night’s sleep; and is able to form a deep bond with them, Hutchison said. One-on-one care generally doesn’t happen in assisted living or nursing home environments where caregivers come and go in shifts and care for many patients.

“Offering seniors the chance to stay at home to receive care is also less disruptive to their lives. They are not saying goodbye to years of memories like they must do when they move to a senior care community,” Hutchison said.

In addition, thanks to changing technology, services like kidney dialysis, physical therapy, respiratory therapy and home nursing can now be given at home, too. A nursing home environment is no longer necessary for the administration of these services.

“In today’s world, you can exert your free will and freedom of choice by doing some research and finding the circumstances that are right for you. There are so many choices from continuum of care communities to independent living to assisted living to home care and in a place like Chicago, there is no shortage of choices,” he said.

For instance, if you live in a big home and you are feeling isolated because you are a social person and many of your friends and neighbors are no longer nearby, perhaps a senior community is the correct choice for you, Hutchison said. But if you are very attached to your home and the memories contained there or if you are suffering early to mid stages of dementia and an unfamiliar environment could be too disruptive, then home care might be the best choice.

How safely you can remain in your house could be another consideration. Do you have mobility problems? Do you need to live on only one floor or could a stair chair be installed? Can you turn the half bath on your first floor into a full bath so you don’t have to use the stairs?

All of these are questions that come into play. Bear in mind that some home adjustments are often covered by Medicare or Medicaid, especially if your doctor writes a prescription for them.

Finances can be handled in a variety of ways. You can hire someone privately (a family friend or through a registry) just like you would hire domestic help. But when you do this you are their direct employer and you have no assurance they have been trained, have a clean criminal and driving record, or have a legal work status. The other option is to hire a senior home care company that will provide trained, bonded and insured caregivers who also carry workman’s compensation insurance.

Many long-term care insurance policies will cover this type of senior home care with a daily stipend that covers all or a sizable portion of the fee, depending on your policy.

In addition, veterans who served at least one day during wartime (without a dishonorable discharge) and their spouses are often eligible for the Veteran’s Administration’s Aid and Attendance assistance, which can be used to pay for home care. An income and expense review by the VA is required but greater assets can be allowed under this program than under Medicaid, for instance, Hutchison said.

Finally, the Illinois Department of Aging can help provide funding for home care under its Community Care Program, but that is a last resort these days because of the state’s financial difficulties, he added.

“I also tell seniors who are interested in our services but are afraid that they cannot afford them to talk with their families and let them know their wish to stay at home. Families often find the funds to let their loved one stay at home if that is what they want,” Hutchison said.

At-home services and schedules range all over the board since every senior’s needs are different and individual, he said. Home Instead has a Rise and Shine tuck-in service for those who only need a light level of care and someone to assure the long-distance child that all is well with mom or dad. In this program, the caregiver comes for an hour in the morning to help the senior get dressed and offer medication reminders and then returns in the evening to help him or her get ready for bed.

Sometimes caregivers come to the home for between three and six hours every day or just a couple of times per week. Live-in care is another option, as is 24-hour care in which a team of caregivers attends to the senior’s needs.

“The live-in option is more cost effective than the 24-hour care option because the senior usually has one person living with them for the five weekdays and a different person on the weekends. But they are always the same people so a bond develops,” Hutchison said.

And Home Instead makes sure the caregiver and senior are happy and comfortable with one another because “if it isn’t a good match, good caregiving doesn’t happen,” he said. “If a senior doesn’t enjoy or trust their caregiver, they are less likely to ask for help and that results in risky behavior, too.”

The full-time Home Instead client care management team makes sure these relationships grow and develop or, if they don’t, a change is made. They are also in constant contact with any adult children or the person who holds the power of attorney for health care so they can manage the care plan effectively.

“And as the senior’s needs change, we talk to both them and the family about adding a piece of safety equipment or more staff time or making other adjustments,” Hutchison said. “But we never make any changes without consulting with a family member first.

“Our aim is one-on-one management of our seniors’ declines so we can make sure that they are safe and independent as long as possible.”