Hiring a live-in caregiver to assist your elderly loved one in his or her daily routines is a good option if he or she does not want to leave his or her home. As not everybody likes the idea of leaving their home for a retirement facility no matter how comfortable their amenities my seem, hiring someone who could provide an elderly loved one assistance and care 24 / 7 or during the day may give an adult child peace of mind knowing that their aging parents are well-cared for.
If you wish to hire a caregiver for yourself or an elderly loved one, here are a couple tips in choosing the best one:
1. Assess your or your loved one’s home-care needs. In order to know what kind of assistance your loved one will require, you need to evaluate your loved one’s needs. Does he or she need help with non-medical personal care such as bathing, going to the toilet or meal preparation? Once you have assessed your loved one’s needs, you can proceed to writing a job description for your ideal care-giver.
2. Ask for certifications and qualifications. If your loved one is suffering from certain conditions like dementia, you need someone who has the appropriate training and experience in the area. Certifications verifying the training and education a live-in caregiver has received in the area should therefore be required. In addition, a driver’s license is also an important certification, should the caregiver need to run an errand or bring the patient to the hospital or his or her doctor’s appointment.
3. Know where to look. Agencies are not the only places you can look for a qualified caregiver, especially if you have a budget to consider. Your neighborhood may be a good place to look for a potential caregiver. If you can’t find one in your neighborhood, someone in your church group may be able to give you a good number of prospects.
Family members and relatives, too, make caring companions. But remember that hiring and firing caregivers are business decisions and family members or relatives may not take it lightly, unless you have made this very clear to them.
4. Require a background check. You are entrusting the welfare of your elderly loved one to someone you barely know. Hence, it is important for you to know more about your potential caregiver. A background check may reveal criminal convictions on offenses which could put your loved one’s life at huge risks.
5. Request for a personal interview, even when you’re hiring form an agency. If you must, ask a close friend or family member to help you conduct a personal interview with a potential candidate. This allows you to observe your elderly loved one’s interaction with a prospect live-in caregiver.
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