Care for the elderly, or simply care for the elderly (also known in some parts of the English-speaking world as care for the elderly), meets the needs of older adults. A person who cares for a very young, elderly, or sick person is called a caregiver. If you make sure that your sick friend eats every day and is relatively comfortable, you are her caregiver. The term caregiver refers to anyone who provides assistance to another person in need.
This person in need could be a husband who has Alzheimer's disease, a mother with cancer, or a friend or neighbor who has had a stroke. Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty that focuses on addressing the unique health needs of older adults. The term geriatrics has its origin in the Greek words geriatron, meaning elderly, and iatros, meaning healer. Its objective is to promote health through the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases in older adults. Older adults may be healthy, but they are more likely to have chronic health problems and to need more medical care.
There is no definite age after which patients can be under the care of a geriatrician or a geriatric doctor, a doctor who specializes in caring for the elderly. Rather, this decision is guided by the individual needs of patients and the care structures available to them. This care can benefit those who are managing multiple chronic conditions or who suffer from significant age-related complications that endanger the quality of daily life. Geriatric care may be appropriate if care responsibilities become increasingly stressful or medically complex for family and caregivers to manage independently. Older patients can receive care related to medication administration, pain management, psychiatric and memory care, rehabilitation, long-term nursing care, nutrition, and different forms of therapy, such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
In addition, common diseases can occur atypically in elderly patients, adding greater diagnostic and therapeutic complexity to patient care. Frail people are also at significant risk of complications after surgery and need long-term care, and an accurate prediction based on validated measurements, rather than based on the age of the patient's face, can help older patients make informed decisions about their options. Most of the time, the caregiver is a woman, but there are an increasing number of men who also fulfill this role. The care provided is largely based on shared decision-making and is based on the patient's goals and preferences, which can range from preserving function, improving quality of life or extending years of life.
This program is being developed by the Illinois Department of Aging in partnership with local aging agencies and local community service providers to develop basic services for family caregivers, including the following: Activities of daily living (ADL) are fundamental skills needed to care for oneself, such as food, personal hygiene, bathroom use, transportation and walking. They perform a variety of roles including hospital care, long-term care, home care, and terminal care. The Illinois Aging Network is available to provide information about services for caregivers, which services are available near you, and to help you find answers to questions you may have. Many caregivers live with or near the person they care for; other caregivers may live in another city or state.
