Elderly and disabled people need special attention. They need constant assistance to be able to live decently. Instead of sending an elderly and disabled parent to a nursing home, it is wise to entrust him/her to an available and well-trained foster family. What are the advantages of this type of care for disabled seniors?
Foster care for disabled seniors to remain at home
The issue of foster care for the elderly comes up when parents or relatives of a certain age are disabled or begin to show problems related to loss of autonomy. These seniors, who are gradually losing their physical and mental faculties, need constant assistance. Many people choose to place disabled elderly people in a retirement home or EHPAD. Another more interesting solution is to place the senior in a foster home.
Foster care for the elderly consists of placing the senior citizen who has lost his or her autonomy in a family that is able to accompany him or her on a daily basis while showing love and affection. In this system, the licensed foster family has at least one trained and certified caregiver. This person provides unfailing assistance to the senior citizen with a disability. It should also be noted that the foster family is available day and night to accompany the senior.
Entrusting an elderly and disabled person to a host family also means savings of up to 50% compared to accommodation in an EHPAD or retirement home. Click here to better understand the foster care system for elderly and disabled people.
Prevention of loneliness and isolation
Foster care is a key solution for the support of elderly and disabled people. In retirement homes and EHPAD, the staff can be overwhelmed by the large number of residents. A certain shortcoming is then noted in the quality of the accompaniment, the quality of the communication with the seniors...
An approved foster family receives a maximum of three disabled elderly people. This allows them to ensure a personalized and flawless accompaniment.
For this family, the assistance is not limited to the hygiene and cleanliness of the seniors, the food, the taking of medication at the indicated times, the walks and the necessary visits to the attending physician... Above all, the foster family communicates a lot with the disabled seniors. Each family member makes sure that the seniors feel comfortable and cared for. They protect the seniors from feeling lonely, gloomy and depressed.
How to find a licensed foster family?
The best way to find a foster family for a disabled person is to contact a professional who has a network of approved foster families. To do so, you should send an e-mail or call the number on the professional's website. An interview is then scheduled during which the household wishing to place an elderly or disabled person in a foster family must specify its expectations and aspirations. It is a question here of specifying the nature of the handicap, the particular needs of the senior and the services necessary for his daily life in the host family to be pleasant. The terms of payment for the services provided by the host family are also discussed during this interview.
After the selection of the host family, the senior citizen is then entitled to a trial period of a few weeks to three months. If the elderly and disabled person is happy with the family, he or she can stay there for months or years. If necessary, the company will suggest other host families within its network until the senior and his or her family find a suitable match.