A shocking new study has revealed that more than half of senior citizens need some form of in-home care and services.
Whether the elder in your life needs assistance with self-care and medication, or simply would benefit from companionship and frequent check-ins and transportation, you’ve likely considered hiring senior health care services at some point.
Maybe you’re concerned that your mother isn’t able to handle grocery shopping on her own. Maybe your grandfather needs light housekeeping and organization assistance, but can’t complete those tasks on his own.
Perhaps you need even more serious live-in assistance for the elder in your life.
When your researching at home senior care, we know you want only the best. But it can be challenging to know exactly what to look for live-in home health care.
Keep on reading this post to learn how to find the perfect help for your aging relative.
1. Evaluate the Elder’s Needs
Studies show that in most cases, elderly people are far more afraid of sacrificing their independence than of the aging process — or even of dying.
We understand that when you’re looking for the best in home health care, you want to work with professionals who will value the elder’s privacy and autonomy (when safe and appropriate.)
Begin by talking with a potential caregiver about the different levels of care they provide. You need to ensure that not only the schedule your elder needs are compatible with the care they’re getting.
You also need to clearly evaluate the services the caregiver can provide, as well as their overall experience level in dealing with cases similar to your own.
Will the caregiver be able to stay overnight? Can they help with housework, dry cleaning, driving/managing appointments, administering medication, and even physically assisting the elder?
Can they help with bathing, grooming, and helping to keep an elder’s memory fresh?
Make sure that you look for agencies that provide a solid assessment process that will help them to evaluate the level of care and companionship needed.
2. Ask About Employee Training
When you’re in the market for senior health care services, you need to consider not only the level of employee training and experience caregivers have received.
You also need to ensure that the agency has conducted thorough criminal background checks on its caregivers. While elder abuse is rare, it takes on many forms — including both physical and financial abuse.
You need to be sure you can trust the person you’re leaving an elder alone with.
Ask how the hiring process and the screening process work. How is compatibility between caregiver and patient evaluated? Are the caregivers insured?
When you ask about training, ask if the agency has any specific certifications or courses it requires caregivers to complete. Ask about any medical or nursing qualifications they have, as well as if there are any caregivers that have specializations in the areas your senior needs help with.
3. Understand the Expenses
Of course, many are worried about the overall cost of living with home health care.
You need to be aware that usually, your long-term insurance will cover you for at least a part of the cost of home health care. The caregiver agency should be able to help you to understand how to complete and file any needed paperwork.
In general, you should not expect for Medicare coverage to pay for the majority of your elder care services. However, the care may be more affordable than you initially feared, especially if you only need lighter assistance.
If you’ve been asked to pay a caregiver directly, it’s usually a red flag. Instead, you should be paying the agency itself.
Also, make sure you understand any contracts you’re asked to sign. Always look for agencies that don’t ask for you to sign a long-term contract, and ask about how to terminate the sessions in the future.
4. Be Honest With Yourself
Last but certainly not least, when you’re in the process of looking for senior health care services, you need to understand the level of care you can provide.
Especially if the elder that you want to take care of is your parent, you may feel guilty about not being able to care for them around-the-clock. You may feel anxious about leaving them in the hands of a professional because they don’t “know” your parent like you do.
However, you also need to be honest with yourself (and the potential caregiver) about what you’re truly capable of doing. This is true not only when it comes to the time commitment you can provide, but also with the level of medical expertise and nursing care that you have.
Caregiver stress is real — and you deserve a break.
Even if the elder in your life doesn’t yet need 24/7 care, you should still consider respite care.
This means that a caregiver will be able to help you when you need it, to give you a break, and even to make you aware of the signs that the elder may need a higher level of care.
Looking for the Right Senior Health Care Services?
From understanding the level of service a caregiver can provide to thinking about their training and experience, we hope this post has helped you to better understand how to find the senior health care services you can rely on.
Remember to search for a caregiving agency that sends representatives that can see the elder through every step of the aging process, no matter how they’re feeling and functioning now.
Get in touch with us today to request an assessment, and start making sure that the most important elders in your life are taken care of — even when you’re not there.
Health care worker helping an elderly man
