Home Care Terms That You Need To Know

Every industry has its own language and terms. These words and phrases can be confusing to anyone who is not part of the daily operations of a specific industry, and the homecare business is no exception.

To help you understand the terms, acronyms, and phrases regularly used when seeking homecare services, Love From The Heart Homecare has created this handy reference guide. Here you’ll find valuable information allowing you to comprehend and communicate your homecare needs effectively.

Activities of Daily Living (ADL): Routine chores that a person completes daily to achieve independent living, such as showering, toileting, dressing, meal preparation, laundry, eating, and being mobile.

Do Not Resuscitate (DNR): An instruction for the Health Care Worker not to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) if the patient’s heart stops beating or they stop breathing.

Incontinence: This happens when someone has lost their ability to control their bowel and bladder function.

Bed Ridden: When someone has lost their ability to be mobile due to an illness, old age, or a severe disability, they become confined to their bed.

Vital Signs: Vital signs help determine the wellness of a person’s body functioning by a person’s heart rate, body temperature, breathing rate, and blood pressure.

Sundown Syndrome (Sundowning): This syndrome is typically found in Alzheimer’s or Dementia patients. It occurs in the late afternoon towards night time. Clients’ confusion increases and they become more aggressive and agitated, developing anxiety and sleeplessness.

Respite Care: Temporary care for someone unable to be left alone due to sickness, a disability, or an older person. It temporarily relieves the primary caregiver, and they can focus on themselves and catch up on their daily tasks.

Palliative Care: Medical care that relieves the symptoms and stress of a severe illness. It concentrates on improving the client’s and family’s quality of life.

Hospice Care: This care is for people with limited time due to an advanced and incurable illness. This type of care involves managing the person’s symptoms so they can enjoy their last days in comfort and dignity, surrounded by their loved ones.

Dementia: It’s when a patient’s mental ability declines severely to the point that it interferes with daily living. Dementia is most commonly caused by Alzheimer’s disease. A prevalent symptom of Dementia is memory loss.

Alzheimer’s Disease: A mental deterioration that progresses and affects thought processes and memory.

Homecare Services: It allows a Healthcare professional to come into a home to provide support with activities of daily living that are challenging. It empowers senior persons with medical conditions or disabilities to have the ability to remain in the comfort of their own homes with assisted support.

Personal Support Worker (PSW): Trained professionals who care for anyone who may be ill, elderly, disabled, or needs help with their daily tasks. They ensure clients are safe and comfortable and their physical well-being is upheld.

Outpatient Care: Healthcare procedures or treatments that can be completed in the comfort of one’s home without an overnight stay in the hospital.

Nursing Home: A residential facility that provides personal care and medical care for people who are ill, disabled, or cannot care for themselves at home properly.

Get in touch with us today!

We hope these terms made you feel confident to move forward with your home care needs. If you’re looking for caregivers in Barrie, Ontario, contact the experts at Love From The Heart Homecare.

With many years of experience in the home care sector, we offer efficient 24-hour personal care services to the elderly and those in need. At each visit, our caregivers cover physical activities, language, music, visual memory, critical thinking, and exercise.

We offer customized home care services across Barrie, Elmvale, Angus, Borden, Innisfil, Georgina, Simcoe County, Oshawa, Port Perry, Bowmanville, Ajax, Durham Region, The Greater Toronto Area, and the surrounding area.

View our complete list of services here, or contact us by calling (289) 914-2156. Alternatively, you can email info@lovefromthehearthomecare.com.