The clich? there’s no place like home has never rung truer than for the elderly members of our family who prefer to remain in their own house during their retirement years. Studies show that nine out of ten senior citizens prefer to remain in their own homes rather than spending their retirement years in senior residential communities, nursing homes or assisted living communities.

Limited mobility and frailty is one of the consequences of aging, which is why there is a need for your aging parents or relatives to receive extra attention and medical care on a daily basis. On a positive note, however, more and more senior citizens are enjoying better health and longer lives now due to the advancement in medical technology, as well as the awareness that most people have about healthy living. Because of this, majority of the elderly are able to live almost independently. In-home residential care is the perfect compromise for senior citizens who would not like to be confined in a nursing home or be part of a senior residential community.

Even before your parents go into the retirement age, it is good to have a discussion about the care and living options that you have, as a family. You need to look at it from all angles. Is there a family member who can stay with your aging parents to look after them? What financial resources do you have for senior care? Do they have a retirement savings package that you can use, or are family members willing to contribute? Would your aging parents like to stay in their own home or join a community? Or, do they need to be confined in a nursing home due to an age-related medical condition?

Once you have considered all the options and as a family, you have decided that in-home residential care is the way to go, then you can take the next step. This is ensuring that their home is remodeled and modified in such a way that they will have an easier time performing their daily tasks like eating and bathing. This way, they will get the personal care that they need and live independently with minimal or no supervision at all. In order to modify their homes, you can widen entry and exit points, install grab bars, additional support and slip-proof the kitchen and bathroom area – any type of additional construction to make it easier for them to move around would help.

After the home has been refurbished to make it safer for your elderly parents to stay in, you can arrange to have an in-home residential caregiver who will assist them with their daily needs. There are professional caregivers whom you can hire for a short-term stay, if the elderly has been recently confined in the hospital. You can get in-home residential care givers who can either stay for a short period of time, or round-the-clock should the need arise. In-home residential care for your elderly loved ones is indeed a viable option. With this, they can retain that sense of independence while living at their own home, with the added security of having a personal and medical caregiver.