Seniors have a right to dignified living in their old age,  irrespective of the country they belong to. In a country like India where community and family ties are very strong, usually, the children take care of their aging parents. However, in the recent past, there is an emerging trend of residential care in a long term care facility to facilitate the need of parents being taken care of. And the challenge that we are faced with at large is ensuring that senior citizens with serious illnesses remain as independent as possible. The greater their disabilities, the greater is their need to be taken care of. And we must not ignore this. Especially considering the fact that senior citizens do not deserve the kind of care that they deserve, there is a gap, a vacuum that needs to be filled. The treatment and care for the elderly should not be merely based on old age homes but instead, if we as a nation can facilitate home health care for our elders, this would ensure they enjoy the same kind of freedom that they would have enjoyed in their younger age. All said and done, every senior citizen is human and they have a right to life( one that meets their care needs, their expectations and preferences ). 

So in this time and age that we are in the 21st century it is time that we think of redefining the goodness of home-based care. And even while saying that I am reminded of a real-life incident that leads me to believe all the more the importance of home-based health care. One of my aunts struggled with 3rd stage cancer for a period of one year. And it was her sick elderly mother who took care of her. When the situation got really tough, they thought of various ways in which she could be taken out of the home due to the unavailability of people to take care of her. However, we came to know of palliative care that was home-based health care and immediately the nurse would come in and address certain issues of pain and discomfort, by administering painkillers which only a trained professional like her could do. It was like a hospital at home, so convenient and so reliable. We need more organizations and institutions that would focus on the betterment of life for our senior citizens in the comfort of their very own homes.

Home care services include:

1. Household maintenance: We all know that it is quite difficult to keep a household running smoothly and definitely takes a whole lot of effort. If a senior citizen finds it hard to look into hospital bills and fixing appointments for themselves, then home health care management becomes helpful. 

2. Home modifications. If the mobility of a senior citizen is becoming limited, home modifications can go a long way towards keeping their existing home comfortable and senior-friendly. . Modifications can include things such as grab bars in the shower, ramps to avoid or minimize the use of stairs.

3. Personal care: Care tenders help with personal day to day activities of senior citizens, such as dressing, feeding them, bathing or even taking them out on a walk or in the wheelchair. Caretenders provide personal care services that can either range from a few hours a day to around the clock live-in care. 

4. Health care. It is important to note that some health care services can be provided by trained professionals such as doctors, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists.

5. Preparation of food: The benefits of eating home-cooked healthy meals is known to everyone. But during old age tasks such as cooking which was once considered enjoyable, become less doable owing to mobility issues or some sort of nagging pain in the body. That is when the provision of home-cooked food being made available to senior citizens kicks into play. Home delivered cooked meals that are nutritious and health beneficial go a long way to offering home-based care to senior citizens.