It's no secret, most of us would like to stay in our own home as we age. Yet, sometimes our loved ones just need a little extra help to remain comfortable at home. That's where Always Best Care can help....we are dedicated to exceeding expectations....always.
They say that your golden years are the best years of your life. For most older Americans, that's how it should be - a time to relax, reflect, and live life in a familiar place. After all, senior citizens in the U.S. have worked tirelessly to build a better economy, serve their communities, and raise families.
However, as seniors grow older, completing daily tasks like showering and enjoying activities such as visiting Prior Lake Mural in Prior Lake, MN gets harder without someone by their side. Unfortunately, many older Americans aren't able to rely on their adult children for help. The reality in today's world is that family members do not have the skills or time to dedicate to caring for their parents. That's where Always Best Care Senior Services comes in.
Our in-home care services are for people who prefer to stay at home as they grow older but need ongoing care that family or friends cannot provide. More and more older adults prefer to live far away from long-term, institutionalized facilities and closer to the place where they feel most comfortable - their home. Home care in Prior Lake, MN is a safe, effective way to give your loved ones the care they need when they need it the most.
Home Care Services
Service AreasSince 1996, Always Best Care has provided non-medical in-home care for seniors to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle as they get older. We are proud to have helped more than 25,000 seniors maintain higher levels of dignity and respect. We focus on providing seniors with the highest level of in-home care available so that they may live happily and independently.
Unlike some senior care companies, we genuinely want to be included in our clients' lives. We believe that personalized care is always the better option over a "one size fits all" approach. To make sure our senior clients receive the best care possible, we pair them with compassionate caregivers who understand their unique needs. That way, they may provide care accordingly without compromising their wellbeing.
The Always Best Care difference lies in life's little moments - where compassionate care and trustworthy experience come together to help seniors live a fruitful, healthy life. Whether you are an aging adult that can't quite keep up with life's daily tasks or the child of a senior who needs regular in-home services, Always Best Care is here to help.
“I am a current client of this provider Always Best Care comes in to help my”
“I am a current client of this provider Always Best Care comes in to help my dad a shower at night. When the guy came out to interview, he was really good and helpful, but it was just hard to find someone to help with dad been a little bit bigger and heavier. They like the person that they had come out a couple of times. The caregiver is good.”
Home is where the heart is. While that saying can sound a tad cliche, it is especially true for many seniors living in America. When given a choice, older adults most often prefer to grow older at home. An AARP study found that three out of four adults over the age of 50 want to stay in their homes and communities as they age.
When you begin to think about why, it makes sense. Home offers a sense of security, comfort, and familiarity.
The truth is, as we age, we begin to rely on others for help. When a family is too busy or lives too far away to fulfill this role, in-home senior care is often the best solution. Home care services allow seniors to enjoy personal independence while also receiving trustworthy assistance from a trained caregiver.
At Always Best Care, we offer a comprehensive range of home care services to help seniors stay healthy while they get the help they need to remain independent. As your senior loved one gets older, giving them the gift of senior care is one of the best ways to show your love, even if you live far away.
To give our senior clients the best care possible, we offer a full spectrum of in-home care services:
If your senior loved one has specific care needs, our personal care services are a great choice to consider. Personal care includes the standard caregiving duties associated with companion care and includes help with tasks such as dressing and grooming. Personal care can also help individuals with chronic conditions like diabetes.
Common personal care services include assistance with:
Sometimes, seniors need helpful reminders to maintain a high quality of life at home. If you or your senior has trouble with everyday tasks like cooking, our home helper services will be very beneficial.
Common home helper care services include assistance with:
Using this kind of care is a fantastic way to make life easier for you or your senior loved one. At Always Best Care, our talented caregivers often fill the role of a companion for seniors. That way, older adults can enjoy their favorite local activities, such as visiting Lakefront Park in Prior Lake, MN with friends while also receiving the care they need daily or weekly.
Common companionship services include:
According to AARP, more than 53 million adults living in the U.S. provide care to someone over 50 years old. Unfortunately, these caregivers experience stress, exhaustion, and even depression. Our respite care services help family caregivers address urgent obligations, spend time with their children, and enjoy nearby activities. Perhaps more importantly, respite care gives family members time to recharge and regroup. Taking personal time to de-stress reduces the risk of caregiver burnout. So, if you've always wanted to eat at the local Perron's Sul Lago or visit Lakefront Park, don't feel bad. Doing so is great for both you and your loved one.
At the end of the day, our goal is to become a valuable part of your senior's daily routine. That way, we may help give them the highest quality of life possible. We know that staying at home is important for your loved one, and we are here to help make sure that is possible.
If you have been on the fence about non-medical home care, there has never been a better time than now to give your senior the care, assistance, and companionship they deserve.
Always Best Care in-home services are for older adults who prefer to stay at home but need ongoing care that friends and family cannot provide. In-home care is a safe, effective way for seniors to age gracefully in a familiar place and live independent, non-institutionalized lives. The benefits of non-medical home care are numerous. Here are just a few reasons to consider senior care services from Always Best Care:
According to AARP, 9 out of 10 seniors prefer to age in place within the comfort of their own home. With in-home care, seniors have a way to stay at home, receive the care they need, and maintain a sense of independence, improving overall wellness.
If you or a member of your family have assumed the role of caregiver for your senior loved one, you know how stressful the job can be. Between caregiver burnout and constant worry, being a family caregiver is hard. In-home care relieves your burden and gives you peace of mind knowing that your older family member is in expert hands.
Unlike nursing homes, where the staff and residents rotate frequently, seniors can foster new friendships and build bonds with their caregiver. Seniors who socialize on a regular basis are often happier, which fosters positivity and leads to increased wellbeing.
No two seniors need the same kind of in-home care assistance. That is why each of our Care Plans is tailored to meet our client's individual needs. We offer plans that cover everything from light housekeeping to more involved duties like transportation to doctor's appointments. Our Care Coordinators will work closely with you to develop a personalized plan to ensure your senior's needs are exceeded.
Always Best Care offers a full array of care options for patients at all levels of health. With our trusted elderly care services, your loved one will receive the level of care necessary for them to enjoy the highest possible quality of life.
Request More Information
While it's true that some seniors have complicated medical needs that prevent them from staying at home, aging in place is often the best arrangement for seniors and their families. With a trusted caregiver, seniors have the opportunity to live with a sense of dignity and do so as they see fit - something that is unavailable to many older people today.
In-home care makes it possible for millions of seniors to age in place every year. Rather than moving to a strange nursing home, seniors have the chance to stay at home where they feel the happiest and most comfortable.
How much does a senior's home truly mean to them?
A study published by the American Society on Aging found that more than half of seniors say their home's emotional value means more than how much their home is worth in monetary value. It stands to reason, then, that a senior's home is where they want to grow old.
With the help of elderly care in Prior Lake, MN, seniors don't have to age in a sterilized care facility. Instead, they can age gracefully in the place they want to be most: their home. In contrast, seniors who move to a long-term care facility must adapt to new environments, new people, and new systems that the facility implements. At this stage in life, this kind of drastic change can be more harmful than helpful.
Institutional care facilities like nursing homes often put large groups of people together to live in one location. On any given day, dozens of staff members and caregivers run in and out of these facilities. Being around so many new people in a relatively small living environment can be dangerous for a seniors' health and wellbeing. When you consider that thousands of seniors passed away in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, opting for in-home care is often a safer, healthier choice for seniors.
Aging in place has been shown to improve seniors' quality of life, which helps boost physical health and also helps insulate them from viral and bacterial risks found in elderly living facilities.
For many seniors, the ability to live independently with assistance from a caregiver is a priceless option. With in-home care, seniors experience a higher level of independence and freedom - much more so than in other settings like a nursing home. When a senior has the chance to age in place, they get to live life on their own terms, inside the house that they helped make into a home. More independence means more control over their personal lives, too, which leads to increased levels of fulfillment, happiness, and personal gratification. Over time, these positive feelings can manifest into a healthier, longer life.
More independence, a healthier life, and increased comfort are only a few benefits of aging in place. You have to take into consideration the role of cost and convenience. Simply put, it's usually easier and more affordable to help seniors age in place than it is to move them into an institutional care facility. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, seniors who age in the comfort of their homes can save thousands of dollars per month.
In-home care services from Always Best Care, for instance, are often less expensive than long-term solutions, which can cost upwards of six figures per year. To make matters worse, many residential care facilities are reluctant to accept long-term care insurance and other types of payment assistance.
With Always Best Care's home care services, seniors and their families have a greater level of control over their care plans. In-home care gives seniors the chance to form a bond with a trusted caregiver and also receive unmatched care that is catered to their needs. In long-term care facilities, seniors and their loved ones have much less control over their care plan and have less of a say in who provides their care.
In-home care is a valuable resource that empowers seniors to age in place on their own terms. However, a big concern for many families and their loved ones is how much in-home care costs. If you're worried that in-home care is too expensive, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that it is one of the most affordable senior care arrangements available.
Typically, hiring an Always Best Care in-home caregiver for a few hours a week is more affordable than sending your loved one to a long-term care facility. This is true even for seniors with more complex care needs.
At Always Best Care, we will work closely with you and your family to develop a Care Plan that not only meets your care needs, but your budget requirements, too. Once we discover the level of care that you or your senior need, we develop an in-home care plan that you can afford.
In addition to our flexible care options, families should also consider the following resources to help offset potential home care costs:
When you or your senior loved one needs assistance managing daily tasks at home, finding a qualified caregiver can be challenging. It takes a special kind of person to provide reliable care for your senior loved one. However, a caregiver's role involves more than meal preparation and medication reminders. Many seniors rely on their caregivers for companionship, too.
Our companion care services give seniors the chance to socialize in a safe environment and engage in activities at home. These important efforts boost morale and provide much-needed relief from repetitive daily routines. A one-on-one, engaging conversation can sharpen seniors' minds and give them something in which to be excited.
At Always Best Care, we only hire care providers that we would trust to care for our own loved ones. Our senior caregivers in Prior Lake, MN understand how important it is to listen and communicate with their seniors. A seemingly small interaction, like a short hug goodbye, can make a major difference in a senior's day. Instead of battling against feelings of isolation, seniors begin to look forward to seeing their caregiver each week.
Understanding the nuances of senior care is just one of the reasons why our care providers are so great at their job.
Unlike some senior care companies, our caregivers must undergo extensive training before they work for Always Best Care. In addition, our caregivers receive ongoing training throughout the year. This training ensures that their standard of care matches up to the high standards we've come to expect. During this training, they will brush up on their communication skills, safety awareness, and symptom spotting. That way, your loved one receives the highest level of non-medical home care from day one.
While it's true that many seniors prefer to age at home, sometimes in-home care isn't the best fit. For those seniors and their families, choosing an assisted living facility makes more sense. Unfortunately, finding the optimal care facility is easier said than done in today's day and age. That's when Always Best Care's assisted living referral services begin to make a lot of sense.
Assisted living is a form of housing intended for seniors who require varying degrees of medical and personal attention. Accommodations may include single rooms, apartments, or shared living arrangements. Assisted living communities are typically designed to resemble a home-like environment and are physically constructed to encourage the independence of residents.
At assisted living communities, seniors receive help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and eating. They may also benefit from coordination of services with outside healthcare providers, and monitoring of resident activities to ensure their health, safety, and well-being. Caregivers who work at assisted living communities can also provide medication administration and personal care services for older adults.
Other services offered within assisted living communities can include some or all of the following:
At Always Best Care, our representatives can match your senior's emotional, physical, and financial needs with viable assisted living communities nearby. Results are based on comparative data, so you can select the best choice for you or your loved one.
Always Best Care works closely with local senior living communities to gain valuable knowledge that we then use to help seniors and their loved ones make informed decisions. This information can include basic care and rent, resident availability, and services provided. Because Always Best Care is compensated by these communities, we provide senior living referral services at no extra cost to you.
Some of the most popular assisted living communities to consider in our area include the following:
For many seniors, moving into a senior living community revolves around how and when they want to make a transition to more involved care. Some seniors are more proactive about transitioning to independent living. Others choose to remain home until their care needs or other requirements are satisfied. Remember - our staff is here to help. Contact our office today to learn more about assisted living communities and how we can find a facility that exceeds your expectations.
The first step in getting quality in-home care starts with a personal consultation with an experienced Always Best Care Care Coordinator. This initial consultation is crucial for our team to learn more about you or your elderly loved one to discover the level of care required. Topics of this consultation typically include:
A discussion of your needs and how our trained caregivers can offer assistance in the most effective way
A draft of your care plan, which includes highly detailed notes and a framework for the care that you or your senior will receive
Discuss payment options and help coordinate billing with your insurance provider
Our caregivers are trained to spot changes that clients exhibit, like mental and physical decline. As your trusted senior care company, we will constantly assess and update your Care Plan to meet any new emotional, intellectual, physical, and emotional needs.
If you have never considered in-home care before, we understand that you and your family may have concerns about your Care Plan and its Care Coordinator. To help give you peace of mind, know that every team member and caregiver must undergo comprehensive training before being assigned to a Care Plan.
At the end of the day, we only hire the best of the best at Always Best Care. Whether you need home care in Prior Lake, MN 24-hours a day or only need a respite for a couple of hours, we are here to serve you.
When you're ready, we encourage you to contact your local Always Best Care representative to set up a Care Consultation. Our Care Coordinators would be happy to meet with you in person to get to know you better, discuss your needs, and help put together a personalized Care Plan specific to your needs.
The recovery of Upper Prior Lake hinged on a few simple radio tags.The lake, like many other waters in the Metro, had been infested and overrun by invasive carp, which were rooting out the lake bottom and turning the 400-acre lake into a murky stew of algae and bacteria. Each time the local watershed district tried to capture and remove the elusive carp, hiding somewhere in depths of up to 40 feet, their nets came up empty.So, the lake’s managers tried something new.In 2016, a team surgically imp...
The recovery of Upper Prior Lake hinged on a few simple radio tags.
The lake, like many other waters in the Metro, had been infested and overrun by invasive carp, which were rooting out the lake bottom and turning the 400-acre lake into a murky stew of algae and bacteria. Each time the local watershed district tried to capture and remove the elusive carp, hiding somewhere in depths of up to 40 feet, their nets came up empty.
So, the lake’s managers tried something new.
In 2016, a team surgically implanted radio tags beneath the armor-like scales of a small number of the fish. The radio signals exposed the carp’s patterns: where the fish congregated just before breeding, when they came to shore and where they schooled together under the ice in winter. The next time the Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District put their nets in the water, they did not come up empty.
Over the past 10 years, Upper Prior Lake has been brought back to life. Once beset by nutrient pollution, toxic algae blooms and water so murky that almost no native plants could grow, the lake is now, by most measurements, healthy.
This summer, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency recommended removing Upper Prior from its impaired waters list for nutrients.
Hundreds of other lakes in the Metro and around Minnesota are still on the nutrient impairment list, an ignoble designation for waters that are so rich in phosphorous, algae and bacteria that they are often unsafe for swimming. The success at Upper Prior in Scott County shows strategies that not only worked, but worked relatively quickly.
“In today’s world it’s so important to see that we can get there,” said Emily Dick, the water resources manager for the Watershed District. “This is a Metro Lake with an intense urban area around it and then rural areas next to that. But we can get there.”
In addition to carp removal, the Watershed District, city of Prior Lake, Scott County and the state have chemically treated the water, sprayed invasive weeds and added wetlands back to the landscape in order to drastically cut the amount of nutrient polluting the lake. Since 2010, they have spent about $9 million restoring the lake.
Upper Prior Lake was first added to the nutrient impaired list in 2002. The lake is part of a small chain in the center of the city of Prior Lake where the water flows north. It collects water from Spring Lake, just to its south, and empties into Lower Prior Lake downstream.
Efforts to restore Upper Prior had been underway for a few years, but gained steam in the mid-2010s.
Managers focused on two pillars of nutrient management: First to remove the excessive amount of phosphorous that had already built up inside the lake over decades from farm manure, fertilizers, lawn clippings, roadways and all the other human development surrounding the lake. And then to restore buffers, wetlands and other natural filters to keep new sources of phosphorous from entering.
Carp, though, were a critical and difficult-to-solve part of the problem. The fish, which typically weigh between 7 and 10 pounds, are bottom feeders that continuously root up the lakebed while hunting for food.
That hurts the lake in two ways, said Jeff Anderson, the water resources coordinator for the Watershed District. It stirs up nutrients and sediments that had settled on the bottom and releases them back into the water where they can feed algae and cyanobacteria. And it uproots native vegetation, preventing plants that could help keep the lake healthy from growing, he said.
In the early 2010s, water managers hired commercial fishing operations a total of four times to scoop up the carp in large seine nets. They failed each time.
Then several state and federal agencies, including the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, Department of Natural Resources and the EPA all worked with locals to implant the radio tags.
Armed with the knowledge of where the fish were typically hiding and migrating on both Upper Prior and Spring Lake, fishing crews pulled up a total of 34 tons of carp in their next attempt. They’ve continued catching and removing carp each year. Since 2016, the watershed district has pulled out nearly 100,000 pounds of the fish, or roughly 12,000 individual carp, Anderson said.
That’s reduced the carp population to a sustainable level, where native plants have a chance to grow, he said.
Before carp removal, aquatic plants were only found growing on 9% of the entire floor of Upper Prior. After removal that had jumped to 34%.
With the carp reduced, the Watershed District started treating the lake with aluminum sulfate, better known as alum. The chemical is sprayed into the water out of a boat and binds to the phosphorous in the water column, sinking it down to the lake bottom.
“We look at alum as the last nail in the coffin that addresses the sins of the past,” Dick said.
The district received about $400,000 from the state’s Clean Water Fund to spray Upper Prior with alum twice, once in 2020 and again in the spring of 2026.
Alum and carp removal are estimated to have removed more than 1,400 pounds of phosphorous each year from Upper Prior, putting a significant dent in the lake’s nutrient problem.
City, county and watershed district officials have also been working to keep new sources of phosphorous from entering the lake.
The local governments received a $400,000 Clean Water Fund grant from the state in 2014 to restore a wetland near Upper Prior and install an iron-enhanced sand filter. Street sweeping efforts were enhanced and property owners have installed rain gardens, said Dick, the district’s water resources manager.
“It’s taken years of work, and definitely needs a holistic approach,” she said. “It takes all of these pieces, and the support of the people who live around the lake. We have nutrient problems because of systemic changes to the way we use our land and water. So, to fix it, it needs a systemic response.”
Reporter
Greg Stanley is an environmental reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune. He has previously covered water issues, development and politics in Florida's Everglades and in northern Illinois.
More than a century after cougars were eliminated from the state, a breeding female could mark the beginning of their natural return.
The unofficial end of summer left some boaters in Minnesota high and dry over Labor Day weekend.Most of the state is bone dry right now. That's led to lower lake levels and banged-up boats.Bob Ebert's Labor Day ride was a rare one on Prior Lake."This thing does great. I can go into one foot of water with it. So I have no issues," Ebert said while standing near his watercraft.That's good news for Ebert because the lake is very low."It's funny, there's a rock in front of my house that I kind of...
The unofficial end of summer left some boaters in Minnesota high and dry over Labor Day weekend.
Most of the state is bone dry right now. That's led to lower lake levels and banged-up boats.
Bob Ebert's Labor Day ride was a rare one on Prior Lake.
"This thing does great. I can go into one foot of water with it. So I have no issues," Ebert said while standing near his watercraft.
That's good news for Ebert because the lake is very low.
"It's funny, there's a rock in front of my house that I kind of watch, and the levels. It's probably a foot down from that. So that's kind of how I gauge how the lake's doing," Ebert said.
For 16 years, Lexie Seurer and her dad have run Prior Lake Pontoon Rental. When the lake changes, they notice.
The drought is to blame for the low water levels. Nearly half of Minnesota is in a severe drought, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
As water levels fall, the DNR is warning boaters about how they load up back on land.
"When that happens, it kind of just slides all of the, like, sand, and rock and everything that's connected to that concrete slab out," Seurer told WCCO while at a Prior Lake boat landing.
"Then you'll have to power load, which creates a big hole behind the structured ramp. And then that creates problems for others," Ebert said.
Instead, the DNR says to use idle speed and the trailer winch, and check where the ramp ends before backing in.
Trailers can get stuck, and with hazards closer to the surface, props can get damaged. But there is one upside to the low water levels.
"Pretty much everybody has a beach now," Seurer said.
In:
952-283-1654
