When your aging family member starts to show signs that they’re unable to handle their day-to-day routines, the best thing to do is to hire an in home caregiver. An in home caregiver is someone who helps your loved one with anything from the daily tasks to medications. However, the process of looking for the right person can be incredibly daunting. Read on this article as we’ve come up with a few tips in finding the perfect caregiver for your elderly loved one.
How To Hire A Caregiver?
Entrusting your senior loved one’s care to other people isn’t easy. You might have hesitations to get a caregiver. Questions about whether they can be trusted or whether they’re suitable for the job come across your mind. Well, these reactions are normal. Choosing the right caregiver is entirely overwhelming. Below are the steps you should consider when finding and hiring private care for your senior family member:
- Get referrals. When you look for a caregiver, the first step you should do is to get referrals. Ask everyone you know from friends to relatives if they know someone who can do the caregiving job. Remember, hiring someone based on word of mouth is something that you might consider. You can be sure that the referrals from your friends are accurate and reliable. If your friends don’t have someone to refer, try to get recommendations from the people you know in the medical industry. Moreover, you can also post in newspapers or search through online job sites and forums to hire the person you need.
- Understand your needs. Before going through the actual process of hiring, make sure you carefully assess your needs by creating a detailed list of things your personal caregiver should handle. Keep these things in mind so you’ll know what to expect in finding one:
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- Duties – Be sure you have an idea about the responsibilities your caregiver should perform and how often they should do them. The tasks include housekeeping, helping the patient in bathing and dressing and many others.
- Language – Think about the possibility of hiring a dual or native speaker. Depending on the circumstances, you might need someone who speaks the language such as Spanish-English.
- Gender – Try to know whether your older loved one is more comfortable around girls or guys.
- Types of specialized care – This should be taken seriously especially if the elderly have disorders such as incontinence or dementia. Dealing with these health issues requires specialized skills especially in helping your loved one wearing incontinence protection pads.
- Qualities – Don’t forget to narrow down the qualities you should look for an in home caregiver. As they’re bound to stay in your home for many hours, make sure you hire someone you can trust.
- Conduct initial screening. Once you’ve figured out your needs, it’s time to screen your candidates. The process might take weeks or months so you should have a sufficient amount of patience. First, get their contacts, make some phone calls, and schedule interviews. You can also talk to them personally to scrutinize your candidates.
- Do an interview. Before you hire a caregiver, be sure you conduct an in-depth interview. Be ready with some helpful talking points and questions you should ask your potential caregivers. Also, avoid being so discriminatory toward your future employee. For the interview, ask them about their work experience, knowledge about caregiving, and the list of duties and responsibilities they usually do as a caregiver. Before the interview ends, don’t forget to inform them about the details of their job such as their salary and benefits, vacations and holiday pay, and policies for visitors.
- Hire the right caregiver. After a thorough screening process, discuss and give the caregiver a sheet that includes all the details of the caregiving job. Here’s the list of things your new caregiver should know before they start working:
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- Behavioral issues of your elderly loved one
- Likes or dislikes
- Diet and eating restrictions
- Mobility problems
- Medical condition and illness
- Exercises and schedule of therapies
- List of names and contact numbers of doctors, clinics or hospitals
- List of names and contact numbers of guardians and other adult family members.
- Location of the medical supplies, emergency kits, and the cabinet for extra clothes or linen
What To Look When Hiring A Caregiver?
Taking care of an elderly individual requires some specialized skills. With that said, find time to consider a few things when looking for a caregiver whether for a full-time or part-time job. Here’s what to look for in a senior caregiver:
- Credentials including license and experience – Search for a caregiver who possesses the right credentials. They should have an active license and experience necessary to become a professional caregiver. These factors are essential when it comes to providing your loved one’s needs especially the medications. While some states don’t require certification to hold a caregiver role, it’s still best to confirm whether they’re licensed or not.
- Personality – Make sure the character of the caregiver you’re hiring doesn’t clash with that of your senior loved ones and other family members. So, it would be best if you had the guts of conducting a background check to ensure there are no red flags. Moreover, make the real effort to ask them about their interests to know whether they have common qualities with your older loved one.
- References – If you’re looking for a trustworthy person long-term, get the most out of some references. Ask their previous clients by calling and listening to them for any complaints. If you notice some hesitancy in commenting, it can be a problem that you should be wary of.
The Bottom Line
In the end, you should remember that hiring caregivers don’t have to be difficult. So long as you follow the tips mentioned in this article, you’ll be on your way toward getting the right private care from the right caregiver. Like you, personal caregivers also deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. Give them time and space they need for themselves to ensure they have a balanced work performance.
