Live-In Pneumonia Care | Pneumonia Care Within the Security and Comforts of Home
An older adult with pneumonia needs constant care and monitoring by medical providers to ensure that they stay on the path to recovery. Any type of pneumonia can make it difficult for seniors to do daily activities and care for themselves. When older adults need assistance, FCP Live-In is there for them.
FCP Live-In provides affordable in-home care and support to seniors who want to live independently and securely in a familiar environment. For more than two decades, our compassionate caregivers use their training to provide customized, in-home care for older adults.
FCP Live-In offers a wide range of services that include:
Personal Care Services
- Assistance with bathing, grooming, dressing, feeding
- Assistance with toileting, incontinence care
- Assistance with walking, transferring from bed to chair or wheelchair
- Assistance with medication management
Light Housekeeping Services
- Preparing nutritious meals
- Light, dusting, vacuuming, sweeping
- Changing and making beds
- Laundry
- Grocery shopping
- Running errands
- Providing transportation
Companion Services
- Accompany client to medical appointments
- Accompany client to social and recreational activities
- Provide companionship to client
- Engage client in meaningful conversation
To find out how our personalized pneumonia care services can help your loved one, contact FCP Live-In. Call us today at 1 (866) 559-9492.
Pneumonia and Its Complications
Pneumonia is caused by an infection that inflames air sacs in one or both lungs. The infection, which can be bacterial, fungal, or viral, fills the air sacs with fluid or pus and triggers health complications that may require hospitalization.
Although there are various types of pneumonia and subgroups of pneumonia, many have the same or similar symptoms, such as:
- Cough, with mucus or phlegm
- Breathing difficulties or shortness of breath
- Fever and shaking chills
- Chest pain that worsens when breathing or coughing
- Fatigue
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Confusion, mostly in older adults
In addition, age, overall health, and other factors determine whether a person has a mild case or serious case of pneumonia. For example, people with a mild case of pneumonia, commonly known as “walking pneumonia,” feels as if they only have a cold. On the other hand, people with a weakened immune system or a chronic illness may require immediate hospitalization because a serious case of pneumonia can turn fatal.
Common Types of Pneumonia
There are over 30 different causes of pneumonia and many affect all ages groups, according to The Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine. The most common types of pneumonia are bacterial pneumonia and viral pneumonia.
Bacterial pneumonia is caused by different bacteria that infects the lungs. This type of pneumonia can be contagious depending on the bacteria that infects a person. At the same time, non-contagious bacterial pneumonia, such as legionnaire’s disease, can be fatal.
Viral pneumonia is caused by virus-like influenza (flu), a cold, or measles. Viral pneumonia, which affects the upper respiratory system, accounts for about one-third of all pneumonia cases, according to Johns Hopkins.
Any type of pneumonia can affect the health and daily activities of older adults unless someone is available to care for them. At FCP Live-In, our dedicated caregiving team can provide support to older adults as they manage this potentially life-threatening illness.
Johns Hopkins: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/pneumonia
Older Adults Face More Challenges With Pneumonia
Studies show that children under 2 and adults over 65 are at a greater risk for acquiring pneumonia. Seniors also face greater challenges battling pneumonia if they have chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A pneumonia infection can worsen these existing health conditions.
What’s more, the annual rates of seniors with “community-acquired pneumonia” (pneumonia acquired outside of a hospital) are four times that of younger people, according to an article in the journal, Aging Health. This also results in seniors having higher rates of hospitalization and pneumonia deaths.
Seniors face greater challenges battling pneumonia if they have chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A pneumonia infection can worsen these existing health conditions.
Older adults must also be more cautious than people in other age groups when getting a common cold or flu since these infections caused by viruses can turn into viral pneumonia.
Adults of All Ages Hospitalized For Pneumonia
Pneumonia hospitalizes about 1 million people a year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, older adults account for over 30-40 percent of hospitalizations for pneumonia, according to researchers at the University of Michigan’s (UM) Division of Infectious Disease.
Healthy adults ages 18 to 57 also have challenges with pneumonia. According to statistics from the American Thoracic Society (ATS), half of all U.S. adults in this age group were hospitalized for severe pneumonia in 2018. In the same year, adults ages 18 to 64 accounted for half the deaths from bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia, a severe lung infection, in.
Sadly, the CDC estimates that 50,000 people die each year of pneumonia. While antibiotics and other medications are used to treat pneumonia, the U.S. death rate from pneumonia has only improved slightly since antibiotics became more widespread 50 years go, according to the ATS.
In-home caregivers can help reduce the dangerous consequences of pneumonia for older adults by preparing healthy meals for them, making sure they take their medication and help them maintain good health habits.
In-Home Care Option Available for Older Adults With Pneumonia
Family members of an older adult with pneumonia may not be able to provide the care needed to recover from the illness. Caregiving is time-consuming and family members who work and have families of their own might find it stressful to take care of a loved one. So, families might consider putting their loved ones in a nursing home or assisted living facility.
However, studies show that seniors in long-term care facilities are more likely to acquire pneumonia than older adults who live at home. In fact, pneumonia is the most common reason for transferring older adults who live in nursing homes to a hospital, according to UM researchers.
Rather than move a loved one with pneumonia into a nursing home or other long-term care residence, an in-home care agency with highly skilled caregivers can go along way in helping them recover from the illness.
About FCP Live-In And Our Pneumonia Care Services
We have provided the ultimate solution for assisted Pneumonia Care services since 1997. Our live-in Pneumonia Care services agency is committed to providing a unique and customized In-Home Pneumonia Care services approach to senior care with the goal of a lifestyle that provides enjoyment for the one in care, and families with peace of mind.
FCP Live-In is a Live-In Home Care company with over two decades of experience specializing in elderly care needs within the home. Our live-in caregiver staff provides an insurance policy of safe and supportive care, along with a 24/7 professional support system that is there for the client and the live-in caregiver at all times.
For more information about our Pneumonia Care services contact FCP Live-In today at 1 (866) 559-9492 or please fill out the form below.
Source Links:
https://www.id.theclinics.com/article/S0891-5520(17)30069-7/fulltext
https://www.cdc.gov/pneumonia/prevention.html
https://www.id.theclinics.com/article/S0891-5520(17)30069-7/fulltext
https://www.thoracic.org/patients/patient-resources/resources/top-pneumonia-facts.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2917114/