SENIOR CITIZENS’ SERVICES INFORMATION
It is always advantageous to think and review information about the various services available to senior citizens in the United States. No matter if you are of an age, approaching senior citizenship or young, you could be sure that you would require these services at some point in time in your life.
Therefore let us focus at some of the valuable services and communities and organizations providing these services.
Senior Citizen Services Community
A whole range of services are provided through a huge group of resources to the elderly. Some of the important services are as follows:
- Health Care facilities
- Government assistance programs
- Educational
- Counseling
- Care giving
- Housing
These services are provided through organizations which might be public or private in nature. Other facilities such as housing development projects, federal and state laws/programs, hospitals, individual or personal caregivers, also provide such services.
Information: Home and Housing Care
Following are the prime constituents of home and housing care services category:
- Assistance with day-to-day activities: Cooking meals, related housekeeping, security and transportation.
- Nursing and related assistance
- Provision of independent residential living atmosphere which does not consist of nursing.
- Nursing facilities which have availability of a 24 hr skilled care in terms of activities like bathing, dressing and eating.
These services are made to commensurate to the budget, mobility requirements, and location of the user.
Care giving
Caregivers are those people who actively provide care to senior citizens. Care givers can be our relatives, friends or professionals who offer certain essential services such as :
- Eating
- Bathing
- Companionship
- Personal Assistance
- Information
- Basic Health Care
These individuals are available through organizations to which they are employed or working on a contractual basis. Specifically trained to provide Senior Care, these caregivers at times have state licenses. Caregivers are generally hired on a live in arrangement. However, they also at times work on a daily basis. A substantial percentage of these caregivers are trained to conduct workshops or teach. They can also, if required, drive a patient to the hospital. There are a few organizations like AARP or Senior Citizens Council, who maintain a database of such licensed caregivers nationwide.
- Licensed Counselors
- Practical Nurses
- Medical Assistants
- Home Management specialists
Patients who are at the fag of their lives, seniors who are alone, can be aptly handled by the caregivers. Moreover, the caregivers are always in high demand for their expertise in handling people in situations of anxiety, hypertension, depression, family briefing and personal crisis.
Health Care
There are a number of institutions which provide services to Senior Citizens. Some of them are private or public hospitals, clinics and HMO.
There are certain non-profit organizations that too provide services like blood tests, physical examinations, vaccinations, general health counseling etc. Home health care is a added type service for senior citizens. HMO on the other hand provides managed medical and non-medical care to senior citizens through certain insurance based systems. Services provided by such sectors are:
- Specialists
- Hospital Services
- Nursing Facilities
- Therapists
- Home Care Agencies
Government Aided Programs
For seniors who have been depleted of all assets get the support of Medicaid, a state aided program which provides various services and also pays.
For disabled seniors who are disabled and above the age of 65, Medicare comes to aid. This is a federal insurance coverage program. Certain costs not covered under Medicare such as deductibles and co-insurance is covered by Medigap, a private health insurance.
