What does an in-home personal care attendant do for older adults?
Professional Care Match helps families with home-based care services for seniors

Search no more! Professional Care Match is your source for dedicated in-home caregivers. PCM specializes in all levels of in-home care for seniors who wish to remain at home. For personal care support, a PCA might be just what you need. 

Live your best life, in your own home

In the US, the number of seniors who suffer from dementia continues to climb. Unfortunately, despite having relatively stable physical health, those with dementia have difficulty performing everyday activities due to cognitive impairments. 

The CDC estimates that there are 5.8 million people in the United States with dementia.  Women live longer than men and are at increased risk for dementia, as are people of color.

Many seniors who are cognitively intact still need help with daily activities and personal care tasks, making in-home help a blessing for seniors with physical limitations. Personal care attendants and homemakers make independence possible for so many seniors who look forward to aging in place.

Avoid hospitalizations ​

When elders don’t receive non-medical help early on, they often end up in the hospital for problems that could have been avoided. Inpatient medical care is very difficult to bounce back from when the elderly patient has dementia or is recovering from illness or injury.

According to a 2018 study, “Older people with a dementia diagnosis were at higher risk from death in hospital, nursing home admission, long lengths of stay, as well as intermediate outcomes such as delirium, falls, dehydration, reduction in nutritional status, decline in physical and cognitive function, and new infections in hospital.” 

The key to preventing avoidable hospitalizations is ensuring that older adults receive the help they need to perform daily personal care. Strict attention to hygiene prevents numerous conditions that, left unaddressed, usually result in hospitalization, such as infections and bedsores. 

Non-medical help in your home

Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia are incurable. People suffering with cognitive decline become dependent on others to ensure their needs are met. Without someone to regularly help them with activities of daily living, there is a high potential for illness or injury.  

While they do not perform typical Home Health Aide duties, homemakers and home care attendants are still an invaluable resource for families and for their loved ones who wish to remain in their homes. Family caregivers become exhausted as they try to meet the demands of caring for their own families while also trying to keep their loved one safe and tended to.

Home care keeps older adults in their comfort zone. When your loved one needs assistance with activities of daily living and other everyday tasks, Professional Care Match is here to help! Extra help in the home is a big relief for adult children who have been ministering for their parents; some families have more than one elderly parent in need of attention.

Daily assistance allows personal care attendants to inspect and report skin injuries and other potentially life-threatening problems. Although PCAs aren’t trained clinicians, PCM’s nursing team is always available to investigate reports of possible problems. 

What does the PCA do?

PCAs assist with bathing, dressing, incontinence care, and mobility support. Furthermore, their presence in the home promotes safety. In 2019 the US saw 34,000 falls resulting in death. Hospitalizations due to injurious falls cost $50 billion per year, 75% of which is paid by taxpayer-funded Medicare/Medicaid. In 2018 more than 32,000 seniors died from falling.

The second most common cause of hospitalizations in the elderly is urinary tract infections; these are often serious enough to cause complications including death if left untreated. Incontinence and urinary retention are the most common causes of UTIs. PCAs play an important role in ensuring adequate hydration and good hygiene, lessening the likelihood of UTIs and associated complications.

Seniors often experience weight loss, particularly for those who are unable to shop, prepare food, or feed themselves. Nutrition plays a critical role in the health and well-being of our elders. PCAs and homemakers assume responsibility for providing meals and fluids. They do grocery shopping and prepare meals. They do light housekeeping, laundry, and other household tasks that keep older adults safely in their homes.
Having a companion to talk to and socialize with is a crucial factor for stability in older adults. Nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated. Loneliness has been linked to numerous risks including depression and suicide, dementia, anxiety, heart failure, and stroke. Regular companionship promotes wellness and cognitive engagement. The familiarity and comfort of home lessens distress for elders with cognitive and mobility problems.  

Professional Care Match welcomes the opportunity to serve you and your family. Whether your loved one requires round-the-clock care and supervision, or just a few visits per week, we are here to help!

Ayurvedic Stress Management for Caregivers

Caring for others can often bring up emotions with which we have may have had no previous
experience. New parents can attest to the stress and exhaustion that accompanies a sudden
change in lifestyle, sleep, eating habits, and responsibility for the well-being of others. Caring for
older adult family members is also stressful; maybe even more so for some people. Many care
for parents and children.
When we become parents, there is a certain level of expectation: most of us are mindful of
meeting the needs of the baby: nourishment, comfort, affection, safety, and attention. But isn’t
this similar to caring for an older relative? Our parents need the same things, don’t they? We
are, perhaps, suddenly in charge of keeping another human alive; providing safety, nutrition,
bodily needs, attention, meaningful interaction. The roles are reversed when the child is caring
for the parent in their later years; adjusting to this new place in life is a challenge that doesn’t
need to become unmanageable.
When does the caregiver become the one who is cared for? Whether caregivers recognize it or
not, receiving care is crucial to mental and physical health. Self-care and other stress
management techniques are highly effective. Make this space for yourself before you feel
exhausted to avoid a build-up of suppressed emotion. Giving care to yourself benefits the
person you care for. Older adults often become victims when the caregiver is burned out. Many
families opt for respite care in order to take some time for themselves.
The Mind Health Coach/Ayurveda Wellness Systems program builds a solid foundation of
physical, mental, emotional wellness as the main infrastructure to gain clarity and focus on
removing blockages and distractions that keep us from our best life. Leah Marie, a Board
Certified Holistic Health Practitioner and certified Chopra Instructor specializing in Ayurveda, will
help you with all aspects of balance, self-care, and personal growth. You will receive the
personalized tools you need to enhance your physical and emotional well-being, such as
learning to make conscious choices and employing mindfulness exercises and self-awareness
practices.
This approach nurtures the connections between mind, body, and soul, improving overall health:
For the mind: joy, balance, and meaning;
For the body: optimal nutrition, digestion, and sleep patterns;
For the soul: emotional healing, stress reduction, sense of well-being
Founded in ancient India, Ayurveda is a holistic healing system. Its name is derived from the
Sanskrit words ayus meaning life, and veda meaning wisdom. It is the world’s oldest and most
comprehensive medical system. Holism is a philosophy that acknowledges the whole as greater
than the sum of its parts. By acknowledging and the interconnected relationship between the
mind, the body, and the soul, and nourishing them equally, the practitioner can transcend the

stressors that do so much damage to our entire being. Natural Ayurvedic techniques include
meditation, yoga, traditional Ayurvedic herbs, and food to promote health and wellness.
Many traditional medical doctors are foregoing prescription medications to treat caregiver
burnout; instead, they are turning to natural, drug-free methods that give the same effective
relief. Millions of Americans have taken up meditation or yoga at the direction of their
physicians.
Stressed caregivers benefit from this holistic program because caring for the mind, body, and
soul is essential to the well-being of the whole person. While the caregiver may attend to one of
the three, or perhaps two, it is essential that all three facets of the person are sustained.
The program is offered through workshops, webinars, online courses, and corporate wellness
trainings. Leah Marie offers one-on-one coaching by phone or video call.