When a loved one needs to take medication but has trouble doing so regularly, you want to make sure he gets that medicine somehow, in order to maintain his health and well-being. Everyday life can keep us from being there daily, sometimes several times a day, to help him remember to take the medicine. But if our loved one is unable to move to reach, open, and administer medicine, or has problems remembering to take the medicine due to certain mental ailments, or any other conditions, he can have trouble getting the medication he needs to stay healthy. Medication isn’t an option; it is a necessity. And that is why agencies like Right At Home, operated by president, Dale Anderson, offer services that comprehensively cover administering medicine.
There are varying levels of assistance with medication. Some elderly and/or ill people need only be reminded to take their medicine, or some people have conditions that require more advanced administration like performing injections. A CNA, or certified nursing assistant, can help remind the person to take his medicine at the right time everyday, which can be crucial for some medicines that need to be taken at exactly the same time each day. The CNA can also separate the medicine or make medicine ingestion easier, such as serving a drink to take with pills, or prepare a food for medicine to be mixed into.
A licensed practical nurse or registered nurse handles more medically advanced services, and so more advanced medicine administering is a natural part of the care. These higher levels of caregivers are certified to perform specific medicine procedures for specific conditions, procedures that may involve careful measuring, mixing, and/or injections. There also may be procedures that involve a sort of diagnosis from day to day. So the nurse would perform certain tests, for example, a blood pressure test, to gauge if a medicine is necessary that day and how much of it if so (all under the direction of the patient’s physician). This is where the careful and thorough training that agencies like Right At Home put employees through comes in so important. A CNA or a nurse will come to Right At Home already trained and certified, but then the agency has its own training system to make sure every employee cares for patients at the high level of quality they mandate. Every caregiver who cares for a patient is trusted to know what daily conditions require what amounts of the prescribed medicines, what conditions should be reported to the physician, what conditions can be treated immediately at home, and what conditions qualify as an emergency. The caregiver is trained to act efficiently in emergency, to identify urgent need and act quickly and correctly. Conditions such as asthma and diabetes can require emergency doses of their corresponding medications, and the caregiver is not only trained to recognize that, but to act on that, as well.
Administering medication is one of the most important services an in-home care agency can offer, because it is so vital to your loved one’s health. It is a careful and exact process that requires knowledge, attention, and time sensitivity. It is so important to turn to an agency you trust, so you can know for sure your loved one is being well taken care of, and is taking hiw medications that are so vital everyday at the necessary times.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
