If a family can only afford one block of care, this is almost always the one. Getting up, washed, dressed and fed is where the day is won or lost.
A short shift, usually one to three hours, covering the hardest block of the day: getting safely out of bed, using the bathroom, bathing or washing, dressing, grooming, the morning medication reminder, and breakfast cooked and eaten. In Las Cruces, Personal Touch Home Care runs these on whatever days a family needs, and for many households it is the only care required.
Getting out of bed is when blood pressure drops and legs are least reliable, which makes it one of the riskiest moments of the day. Bathing follows immediately, in the most dangerous room in the house.
Then there is the knock-on. Someone who does not get properly dressed frequently does not go out, does not answer the door, and starts declining invitations. Someone whose morning medication is missed has a worse afternoon.
Cover that one block and a surprising amount of the rest of the day sorts itself out. It is also the cheapest useful arrangement there is, which is why we suggest it first.
Usually one to three hours:
Tell us what time the person actually gets up and we will build around it rather than around a standard slot. If mornings need to start early, say so on the call.
Sometimes, if it is just dressing and breakfast. If bathing is included, it usually needs longer — rushing a shower is how falls happen.
Yes. Two or three mornings a week is one of the most common arrangements there is.
Then we build in the time. Rushing someone whose body will not be rushed is unsafe and it also guarantees the arrangement gets resented.
Personal Touch Home Care provides non-medical in-home care. Our caregivers assist with daily living, safety and companionship. They do not provide nursing, wound care, injections, physical therapy or any service requiring a licensed clinician. If that is what is needed, it is a home health agency, and we will tell you so.
Call and describe what is happening at home. We will tell you what we can do, what we cannot, and what it would take.
