Here are some quick tips from our experience about how to create the best home caregiving experience:
- Be a strong consumer when it comes to choosing your home care service provider and senior home caregiver. Ask questions, check references and find out about the agency’s history, management quality and what sets them apart. You may want to review our article Five Tips for Choosing a Quality Home Care Provider.
- Find out what certain types of home caregivers can do and what regulations are in your state regarding home care services. In Florida, there are many unregulated, private home caregivers but the state licenses and oversees different types of home care agencies, with particular requirements and restrictions. Make sure you hire the right type of agency for the type of services you need (for example, a home health care company in Florida can provide hands-on care and a home companion agency can not). Here is a link to Florida’s Agency for Healthcare Administration home care unit regarding regulations.
- Provide the home caregiver with information so that he or she can do a good job. Tell them how you like things done, what your typical schedule is and what you are looking for from them. If you are assisting an elderly loved one, make sure to provide some history and personal information so the caregiver can make the experience more tailored and offer topics of conversation, etc.
- Think about what duties the home caregiver can provide in the time allotted. We have ideas to help! Check out our 50 Ways Home Care Can Help checklist and fill this out to help make best use of available services.
When we talk to families about home care services, they are often surprised to learn what can be accomplished in a certain amount of time. When you break down all that can be done to care for the home and the senior for the total price, you may get a better picture of the value a home caregiver can provide.
For example, a home caregiver might be hired for a three hour time slot, during which he or she helps with “wake up service”, i.e. getting out of bed, showered, shaved and dressed. The caregiver could also make the bed and tidy the bedroom, cook breakfast, do a load of laundry, prepare a meal for later in the day and do some ironing. The list of home caregiver services can be tailored to your needs.
EasyLiving, Inc. is a licensed home health care company serving Pinellas County, Florida seniors, proving high quality home caregivers for an affordable price. Contact us today for a free evaluation or your home caregiver questions answered!
