If you’re working full-time outside the home and you cannot be there to provide daily care for a child or an older relative—a skilled or semi-skilled senior home care is the answer.
But the process of hiring a caregiver and then training one to suit your requirements is no doubt a headache and should not be taken lightly. You have to be diligent when looking for home help because you need to know that your loved one is getting the necessary support to aid their day-to-day without any issues. Luckily, nowadays it is easier for caregivers to stay in touch as there are care management applications such as Shiftcare that can connect the caregiver and the family together so that everyone is on the same page with treatment and schedules.
Tips for Hiring an In-Home Helper
The first thing you’ll need when hiring a part-time in-home caregiver is patience and an open-mind. To be open-minded means that both parties (you and a home helper) should be cooperative and willing to compromise. This attitude is the best policy, yet it’s no guarantee for total harmony and consistency.
After that you’ll need the tools to you perform a complete due diligence on the potential hires. You could even utilize the help of Trustworthy Private Investigator Services to perform in-depth background checks on potential candidates to make sure they are suitable for the role.
There’s a process for finding competent help and putting it to work for you. It doesn’t have to be tiresome and nerve wrecking either. Here are some things to remember:
Determine the kind of help that’s needed
- How much assistance does your child or aging parent need with medication, bathing, dressing, cooking, housekeeping, transportation, or other daily activities.
- If you’re seeking a caregiver for a young person, list out the child’s needs.
- If you’re seeking a caregiver for an aging parent, discuss it with your relative. Ask what kind of assistance do they believe is most helpful?
- Your parent’s doctor can offer helpful tips and advice or make a recommendation.
Types of Home Care Workers
There are basically four categories of in-home care workers:
- Housekeeper or a custodian performs basic household tasks and light cleaning.
- Homemaker or personal care worker provides personal care, meal planning and cooking, household management, and medication reminders.
- Live-in or companion offers personal care, light housework, exercise, companionship, and medication reminders.
- Home health aide, certified nurse’s assistant, or nurses’ aide provides personal care; help with transfers, exercise, household services essential to health care, and medication assistance. They also track one’s health condition and report to an RN or therapist.
The next step is to decide how much time a care recipient needs and how much money you have to work with to pay for the caregiver. Once that’s defined, you have three choices:
- Hire and self-manage independently. The “do-it-yourself” hiring process often begins with placing an ad or using a reliable online resource like HomeHero.org.
- Check with local social services and community agencies.
- Contact a private, for-profit home health care agency.
- Ask a family member to be the caregiver.
Get Prepared for an Interview
- Make a list of questions to ask the candidate.
- Make a list of responsibilities and tasks you need done. Be specific.
- Ask for the candidate’s credentials.
- Ask about the candidate’s training and experience.
- What kinds of experience does the candidate have?
- Ask for references and take time to check them thoroughly.
Whether you are working through a company or hiring someone on your own, certain information and guidelines should be established up front. It’s important to get a background check and call references before hiring anyone.
Don’t turn a loved one’s care over to someone you haven’t thoroughly checked out.