Don't Need Daily In-Home Care? Consider Arranging Regular Health Checkups
Posted on: 29 August 2017
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Although home health agencies are often synonymous with caring for patients by providing help with bathing, cooking, cleaning, and even companionship, you may find that you don't yet need this type of help. Perhaps you live independently with a relative degree of comfort, but you have a few health issues and you're not keen on always traveling out to the doctor's office or other clinics you may have to visit. The good news is that many home care agencies can provide regular health checkups, even if you aren't receiving more of the traditional senior care services that in-home care agencies offer. Here are some things that this health practitioner can check each time he or she visits your home:
Blood Pressure
Having the right blood pressure is important for people as they age. If your blood pressure is high, you could be at a risk of heart health issues. If it's low, you may occasionally get lightheaded and pass out — and a fall could easily result in a head injury or even a major broken bone. Your health aide will assess your blood pressure with each visit and log this information on a chart. Ideally, you'll see that your blood pressure is remaining consistent. If there are changes, the aide can share this information with your family doctor, who may wish to adjust your medication.
Dietary Assessments
Many home health aides can cook and even shop for groceries for you, but this may not currently be necessary. If you're cooking for yourself, you may wish to have your health aide assess how you're doing during each visit. He or she can get a sense of what you've been eating over the days since the last visit. This is especially important if you have a health concern that your diet can influence. For example, if you have diabetes, your health aide will want to ensure that you're not eating too much sugar.
Body Mass Index
Weight maintenance is important for people as they age, while others may need to gain or lose weight. You can have your home health aide measure your body mass index, body fat percentage, or other metrics during each visit, and then track these numbers. The aide can then let you know if you're doing an adept job of maintaining your weight or gaining or losing it, and may even make some suggestions if you need to make some changes.