The same scenario plays itself out over and over again in America. An elderly person needs help with care and prefers to stay at home. The best care can often come from someone who is emotionally involved with the senior and they turn to children or grandchildren to provide the care.
Sometimes it’s help with simple things like picking up around the house or assisting with the preparation of meals. Other times it’s more advanced care like bathing or toileting and even transportation to doctor appointments. Aging adults are heavily reliant on their children much as their children were reliant on them early in life.
Providing care is a good thing for the frail parent. It can bring family members together and can often delay the entry of the parent into a nursing home. Bottom line, doing this also cuts down on the cost of care. It cuts the cost to the patient because care at home is often far less expensive than facility care. It cuts the cost to the state which often has to pick up the extra care costs once a nursing home patient has exhausted their resources through the Medicaid Spend Down.
