There is no place like home

Caring for your loved one in your own home can be a healing comfort for them. It may be medical care for a short term, long term, or a life changing illness. When you bring somebody into your home to help you care for your loved one there are qualities to look for that will help bring about a positive healthy relationship. Depending on how much time they will be in the home will dictate how quickly the bond of honesty and trust will occur. As you begin to have help in the home building on these qualities will help to create a positive healthy environment for you, your loved one, and those on your care team.

Here are 4 important qualities:

Honesty - Honesty helps to build a strong foundation between the patient, caregiver and the care team.
Sometimes there are multiple levels of care for the patient in the home. The more care involved the more critical it is to establish a relationship of honesty. The role of honesty opens the door and paves the way for trust, respect, and communication to begin.

Trust - Being able to trust those who come into your home is critical. Your home environment is a sacred place, your sanctuary. This is where you nurture and grow love, morals, values, discipline, character, integrity, respect, beauty, and grace. This is where the well spring of your life ebbs and flows. It is important that you build trust with those who help you care for your loved one.

Respect - The next step is respect. You must be able to respect each other as a person, each other’s job experience, and the expertise that each of you brings to the table. The value of respect will naturally bring about a sense of dignity and compassion both for the patient, caregiver, and those whohelp.

Communication - Communication helps to develop the relationship between the patient, caregiver and the care team. You need to be able to effectively communicate with those in your home. This could be a parent, siblings, extended family, friends, or those in the medical field. Good communication will help keep the stress level down during the day to day operations of caring for your loved one.

As you work to establish these foundations they will spill over into other areas; your marriage, children, work, activities, and life in general. All of this will help you to better organize, plan, and manage while loving.

Penny Hanlon
www.cominghomeguide.com