Activities of Daily Living

Dependable In-Home Care for Seniors

Many seniors have these daily activities under control and have successfully maintained them for many years. However, it is when they start to lose control of one or more of these critical daily functions that life becomes a challenge. The fear of losing independence sets in while family members and/or loved ones are trying to provide the support around busy schedules. This often contributes to turmoil and hostility. All families desire to provide the love and support needed by their senior loved ones, but unfortunately everyone has their own lives and it can become burdensome trying to juggle all of life’s daily challenges. The reality is this can be easily remedied with a caregiver/companion in the home providing peace and assurance to all involved.

Activities of Daily Living Include:

1. Bathing: Bathes completely by oneself, or needs help cleaning only a single part of the body (ex. back, genitals, or injured/disabled extremity).
2. Dressing: Retrieves clothes from dresser or closet and puts them and outer garments on using the appropriate fasteners. Help may be used to tie shoes.
3. Toileting: Goes to the bathroom without help, including getting on and off the toilet, taking off and putting on clothes, and cleaning genitals.
4. Transferring: Gets in and out of a chair or bed without assistance, except for perhaps a mechanical transferring aid.
5. Continence: Has complete control over urination and defecation.
6. Feeding: Transfers food from a plate into the mouth without assistance, though the food may be prepared by another person.

Instrumental Activities of Daily Living:

1. Using the telephone: Answers the phone, dials well-known numbers, and takes initiative to operate phone on their own.
2. Shopping: Takes care of all purchases without assistance.
3. Food preparation: Plans, preps and serves all food needed for meals and snacks.
4. Housekeeping: Does light to heavy home maintenance tasks with or without help.
5. Laundry: Completes some or all personal laundry.
6. Mode of transportation: Manages personal travel independently and/or uses public transportation with or without assistance.
7. Responsibility for own medications: Takes the appropriate amount of medication at the correct time without supervision or prompting.
8. Managing finances: Handles all or some finances with little to no help, including paying bills, keeping track of income, and day-to-day purchases.

Our Hourly Caregivers Perform these Daily Activities

Most seniors are initially hesitant about having a professional caregiver come into their home.  That’s why at Creative Caregivers we’ve found that easing them into accepting a little assistance at first works well by scheduling just a few hours the first week.  Their caregiving hours can then be adjusted up or down once they’ve become comfortable with their caregiver.  To further put your mind at ease, we’ll match up your loved one with a caregiver that’s uniquely qualified for their personality and specific needs.

When you need to take a well-deserved break, the affordable and dependable in-home caregivers at Creative Caregivers can pick right up where you left off.  Seniors in Sarasota deserve a chance to gracefully age in place, while enjoying the comfort and independence that living in their own home provides.  If you have an aging loved one that might benefit from our home care services, call Creative Caregivers toll free today at: 1 (941) 270-1029 , and we’ll promptly schedule an initial FREE in-home assessment to discuss your senior’s needs.