As the seasonal decorations are taken down and working life resumes, many people are back to busy schedules and school timetables. That inevitably means less time to monitor aging parents or seniors in colder weather, and with fewer opportunities for them to get out and socialise either.

Visiting home for the holidays may have also reminded you that your aging parents or relatives are needing more care on a day to day basis. You may also be concerned that you cannot check on them regularly in person, to see how they are really coping rather than relying on phone calls and the inevitable answer “Oh, we’re fine”.

How home care can really help

Senior home care can help on both counts, providing friendly, professional help in the areas of independent living that seniors need more help with, plus the reassurance of a regular visit in person by a known and trusted caregiver. Many of our families find this regular visit schedule very reassuring and takes away that worry of “What’s happened now?” every time the phone rings. It provides essential peace of mind for absent families living elsewhere in Alberta, Canada or even abroad.

A dedicated caregiver for every client

Many home care agencies provide their service using a roster of caregivers. They may issue a schedule of who is coming when, but it’s hard for seniors to build up a relationship with a caregiver who may only visit once in any given care schedule. It also means that the person receiving care has to often remind new or infrequent caregivers of their particular care requirements, as a care plan and notes on a sheet can only convey so much.

That’s why at Vytality at Home, every client has their own chosen caregiver. We carefully match caregiver and client to ensure a continuity of care and establishes a true rapport. We even try and match caregivers who speak the same language as older clients who may have moved to Canada to live with adult children. This relationship also extends to our client’s families, who can relax knowing that their parents are being looked after to a pre-agreed plan by someone they can rely on. It’s also great to know, as a family, that someone is there, in person, to spot any changes in seniors’ health, wellbeing or home environment.

Don’t worry, be ‘app-y

Central to this relationship is our Vytality app, which provides a private, direct link between caregivers, home care clients and their families, updated in real time.

• When a caregiver is en route, the app lets the clients and associated account holders know they are on their way. This is reassuring both for the seniors in their home and adult children perhaps concerned about weather or road conditions (or which day a caregiver is due to come!).
• When the caregiver arrives, the app has already informed them of any new or changed requirements, and tasks to be completed during their visit.

The app also lets everyone know when the caregiver departs after a session of care, companionship and a chosen activity or two.

On the admin side, our app makes managing home care so much easier;

• Every aspect of home care can be managed by anyone linked to the app account, including schedules, payments and changes to the care plan.
• Seniors and aging parents are in control of their own care too, so they can contact us about any extra help they might like, or to inform us of hospital appointments, etc.

As a family member you may live many miles from your parents or loved ones and not be able to help with small but important tasks that crop up. Instead, just ask us to help with them instead, via the app! (Just bear in mind that you’ll need to order extra help / care / services in advance, to ensure the caregiver or our Partner services have availability.)

Seeing is believing

Best of all, our app puts those at the heart of our home care service in Calgary in touch with each other.

• Remote family members with account access can video call caregivers whilst they are in their parents’ home, to discuss home care or just to say hello!
• Families can get updates from the caregiver in real time during the working day, even if they are not available to chat at that point..
• Family members can video chat through the app with seniors and loved ones at specific times, knowing a caregiver is on hand to make sure they click the right buttons!

An app for every need

As a family member, you can also use the app to contact us here at Vytality at Home of course. You can discuss any concerns you have, or explore new ways to improve your parents’ independent living through our range of services, from snow clearance to taxi transfers, home adaptations to extra help if visitors are due.

And, of course, you can always call us anytime to discuss your requirements – we still love ‘old’ technology!

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caregiver independence senior living