Are you looking for a caregiver for your senior loved one? Then, undeniably, choosing the right one to assist your parent or grandparent overcome his senior years comfortably and safely can be a struggle, especially when you don’t have any idea about the caregiver you are looking for. Essentially, there are different types of caregivers who have different credentials. This way, you can determine the kind of care you need for your elderly loved one.
Fortunately, you can find a full list of caregivers with different credentials will help you figure out how to hire the right care provider for your senior loved one. Additionally, if you know the background of the caregiver you intend to hire, you will also have an idea of how much you are to spend for the person to assist your parent or grandparent.
Strategies that Work
A lot of people who need assistance for their elderly loved one with activities of daily living depends on unpaid care by family caregivers. However, older adults and their families acknowledge the advantages of hiring caregivers and getting such services to help elderly individuals stay safely in the comfort of their home longer. They also give the family members peace of mind.
Senior living for your parent or grandparent can be challenging, especially if you don’t have anyone to entrust him to. Therefore, cannot just leave him under the care of someone you don’t know. If you care for a loved one in his senior years, follow these 10 effective ways to guarantee the caregiver you are hiring is the right one for him.
1. Evaluate Your Elderly Loved One’s Home Care Needs
Carefully assess the help needed in the areas of the household, personal, and medical care, including respite care and long-term care. Does your loved one need a home health dare like medication management and physical therapy? Relatively, he might need non-medical personal care like assistance as he prepares meals, dress up, bathe or go to the toilet. Incidentally, the ideal full-time caregiver is a perfect companion too, to doctor’s appointment, shopping, home maintenance, shopping, paying bills, transacting at the banks, and running other errands.
2. Develop a Job Description for the Caregiver you Intend to Hire
Prepare a well-drafted job description with the help needed as your basis. In other words, as you write the description, remember the following qualifications:
- The caregiver has undergone training in health care which includes the type and level of training (licensed practical nurse, certified nursing assistant, registered nurse)
- He/she can carefully lift or carry the care recipient
- The caregiver for a senior can operate a special machine or equipment
- A driving caregiver (either with a car or a valid driver’s license
3. Seal the Caregiver’s Employment with a Job Contract
Even before you face the caregiver applicants, have a job contract ready as based on the job description, which includes the terms and conditions with the following details:
- Salaries (salary schedules and the amount of payment a caregiver should get)
- Number of hours for work
- Caregiver’s Social Security number as it is a requirement from you to report salaries you pay the caregiver to the Internal Revenue Service
- The main job description
- Behavior like smoking, tardiness and abusive language which are not acceptable)
- Termination of service including the amount of time for notice for both parties, the reason for termination minus the notification, etc.).
- Dated signature of both the employer and employee
4. Know the Right Place to Look for the Qualified Caregiver for a Senior
With a clear job description, you can now determine the resource from where you’ll search for the right caregiver. Relatively, look for friends or neighbors who can be excellent sources of caregivers for seniors. It’s perfectly fine to talk to family members; however, first of all, hiring, supervising and firing a caregiver all fall under business decisions. As a result, more often than not, relatives and friends are not making good paid to help them.
5. Prepare Yourself for the Interview with the Caregiver
It’s time to make your list of questions to ask the applying caregiver for a senior. However, if you can’t think of any question to ask your applicants, you may call the agency that’s providing the care for seniors. Undoubtedly, the agency can give you the complete records of the applicants from which you can draw questions.
6. After Thorough Screenings, Interview the Filtered Qualified Applicants
Following a thorough screening of the applicants on the phone, you can now interview the person you find acceptable. Surely you want to be sure about your decision after the interview. Therefore, you might want to consider inviting a family member or friend to join you in the interview so he can supply you with his second opinion.
7. Carefully Check the Applicant’s References
It is essential to check on references carefully. Relatively, you should talk to those listed as references. Moreover, as part of the reference checking, look for a candidate who is reliable and very much qualified to do the job.
8. Make a Careful and Thorough Background Check
Typically, it is a must for people who receive payments through the state funds to pass and clear themselves from any criminal background check. Nevertheless, for an individual who does not have any conviction for a disqualifying crime, he may possibly have convictions for offenses that can necessarily affect his current safety risk. The offenses may include use of drugs; driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and driving without an insurance or driver’s license, among others.
9. Hire Thoughtfully
Surely, you want to hire someone from a home care agency who has experience in particular areas where you need help for your senior loved one. Specifically, those with Alzheimer’s disease frequently need help with bathing and toileting, for instance. Therefore, look for a caregiver had previously worked with an older adult with this same illness. Also, try hiring a bonded and licensed care provider.
10. Monitor the Newly Hired Caregiver for a Senior
The hiring process doesn’t stop once the caregiver starts working. Essentially, you need to plot a schedule to monitor the caregiver’s quality of services, as well. Undoubtedly, this strategy is especially essential for you as a family member. You can do it by doing regular home visits to the older individual. More so, you can have personal contact with the caregiver.
The Right Source of Caregiver
After discovering 10 easy-to-follow and effective ways to choose a caregiver for a senior loved one, you are now ready to choose the right person. But what if you don’t know where to get the perfect fit for the senior’s home care needs? Worry no more because we, at Innovative Homecare Solutions can help you.
We are the Live-In Care Specialists, and we pride ourselves on being friendly, competent, and dedicated to improving our clients’ lives. As such, we offer Live-In Care or Come & Go Care, which we also call the hourly care. Call us anytime at (630) 225-0100. To know more about the services we offer, visit www.innovativehomecare.com.
