People with disabilities often require some level of specialized care. Each person with disabilities has different needs regarding their care, depending on the type and severity of their disabilities, and whether they are physical, mental or intellectual. Disability care is a vital aspect of caregiving that focuses on providing support and assistance to individuals with disabilities, enabling them to live independently and maintain a high quality of life. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 61 million, over approximately 26 percent of adults in the United States, live with a disability, highlighting the importance of disability care services.
To help these adults live fulfilling lives safely, caregivers and organizations offer disability care. This article will explore the different types of disabilities, what the caregiving entails, and the services we provide for residents in Pennsylvania and Delaware.
What Is A Disability?
Disabilities are physical or mental impairments that have significant or longstanding effects on one’s ability to carry out daily living activities.
Disabilities can manifest in various forms, affecting different aspects of a person’s life. Common types of disabilities include:
- Vision: Impairments that affect one’s ability to see clearly
- Movement: Difficulties with mobility or coordination
- Thinking: Challenges with reasoning, problem-solving, or decision-making
- Memory: Issues with retaining or recalling information
- Learning: Struggles with understanding or processing new information
- Communicating: Difficulties with verbal or non-verbal communication
- Hearing: Impairments that affect one’s ability to hear clearly
- Mental health: Conditions that impact one’s emotional well-being
- Social Relationships: Challenges with forming and maintaining relationships
These disabilities can make everyday tasks, such as moving around the house, making reasonable decisions, or maintaining social relationships, more challenging. Depending on the severity of the disability, even simple tasks can be difficult or impossible.
Any impairment can present challenges; without assistance, even mild disabilities can become impossible for the individual and family to manage.
However, with the right support, seniors and others with some disability can still live independently. The goal is to help people with disabilities maintain their autonomy, including remaining in their homes and keeping bonds with friends and family healthy.
What Is Disability Care And What Is Involved?
Disability care, in the context of caregiving, refers to providing personalized support and assistance to individuals with disabilities. This type of care aims to help people maintain their independence and overall well-being.
Caregivers may assist individuals with mental and emotional disabilities, physical disabilities, or chronic conditions such as ALS or paraplegia. In many cases, the care is ongoing, as those with disabilities often require long-term care to maintain a full life.
The services and functions vary based on the disability of the person. For those with a physical disability or difficulties, a caregiver may help with difficult or impossible tasks, such as transportation, personal hygiene, and other daily living chores. For those with a mental, emotional, or intellectual disability, caregivers may provide services such as monitoring and companionship.
Frequently Asked Questions About Our Services
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Is a home consultation offered prior to starting care?
A qualified Neighborly Home Care manager will answer your questions and establish your need for home health care. Additionally they will make an appointment to meet with you and your family to assess and identify the potential client’s specific needs.
Will there be a written plan of care outlining the duties of the caregiver?
A Neighborly Home Care Registered Nurse will complete an individualized and detailed care plan for all cases mandated by local licensing regulations. The plan will be reviewed with a Neighborly Home Care staffing coordinator and all assigned caregivers.
What is a Service Plan?
A Service Plan is a guide for providing hands on care for clients in the home setting. The PCM evaluates each new client and completes an assessment. This assessment provides the information that allows the PCM to develop the individual Service Plan with the sections presenting specific information about the client’s personal needs and hygiene, vital signs, nutrition, elimination, activities, and other services. The PCM performs regular supervisory visits and maintains a current, accurate Service Plan.
The Service Plan is left in the client’s home and when the CNA arrives for their shift, they carefully read and follow the directions that it contains. If the CNA feels the Service Plan should be changed to best serve the client’s needs, they will call the PCM and request that the plan be reviewed and amended as necessary.
What is the difference between live-in care, 24/7 care and hourly care?
With live-in care service, an individual actually comes to your home and stays there with you. The person eats, sleeps and is a guest in your home while they are there to assist you. Live-in caregivers require a place to sleep, proper time necessary to sleep and a bathroom that they can use.
24/7 care provides service for seniors who require close supervision at all times and is billed hourly. 24/7 care is different from live-in care because it requires three caregivers to work in shifts to make sure the individual in need always has the proper supervision.
Hourly care is available for people who require intermittent assistance. Hourly service is available anywhere from 2 to 24 hours per day.
Can you provide care in places other than the senior’s home?
Yes. At Neighborly Home Care we can visit clients anywhere they need care. During hospital stays, our caregivers provide round-the-clock companionship and monitoring for safety. Many residents of assisted living and independent living facilities hire our caregivers to provide the personal one-on-one attention they deserve.
What are Neighborly Home Care’s hiring practices?
Unlike many home care companies, we don’t hire independent contractors. Our caregivers are all full-time Neighborly Home Care employees and each of them is an integral part of our home care company.
All caregivers complete a thorough interview process that includes: reviewing their previous work experience, years of caregiving, medical, healthcare experience and certifications; past work reference checks; license requirements; verification to determine their eligibility to work in the U.S.; required vaccinations and other medical checks; national criminal background check; Neighborly Home Care’s own CNA test, along with a skills assessment and company policy and procedure orientation.
And, all Neighborly Home Care caregivers are our employees so they are licensed and covered by NHC’s workers compensation and liability insurance.
How will I know if the caregiver is providing the right amount of hours at the schedule times agreed upon when we signed up for service?
Neighborly Home Care uses a Telephone Reporting System to track the number of hours and arrival / departure time for every shift for each caregiver. The caregiver logs in from the clients phone upon arrival, and logs out from the clients phone upon leaving, by using a special toll free phone number assigned to them. This allows us to keep accurate account of the hours worked by the caregiver. The only time an employee may use a client’s phone is to clock-in or in cases of emergency.
How do you supervise caregivers?
At the onset of care, we create a schedule and plan that covers all aspects of the appropriate care needed for a particular client and we go over this plan with each caregiver. A Professional Care Manager makes regular visits and phone calls to ensure that the care plan is adequate and that it is being executed properly. The Professional Care Manager, in conjunction with the family will amend the plan as necessary.
Will I have a choice of a caregiver or will a caregiver be assigned to me?
We will arrange an interview between you and the caregiver selected for your needs. If you find the caregiver is not a good fit based on personality or experience, we will arrange for you to meet with additional caregivers until we find the caregiver that best matches your needs.
