A flower only blooms when it sticks to the plant. You pluck it, and it’s gone—it won’t grow anymore. A school of thought says that the flower would blossom only if it sticks with the plant, which metaphorically, is its family. Now consider this: the beloved seniors in your life are like flowers and you, the Caregiver, are the plant nurturing them.
The elderly adults in our life are a gemstone. We can’t get enough of them, and we try to take care of them as much as we can. In-home care is considered the best option for adult daycare as our beloved seniors deserve our love and affection along with materialistic health checkups. The Caregiver stays at home and pays heed to every need and want of senior, and the senior can’t be any more content.
But in-home care isn’t as simple as it sounds.
For a start, it’s quite a tough walk. One cannot bear tasks that require 20 hands, and when it comes to adult care, functions like these do come up. That is why in-home care puts an end to many Caregiver and senior jitters. A service made for people who need help with their beloved seniors, but they can’t do it all themselves.
In-home caregivers are an indispensable asset to have, primarily when family members are occupied with their lives, and they need somebody reliable who can watch over their beloved seniors. A right, certified in-home caregiver offers every service that caters to the seniors, and they are well being. Be it essential medical services or just keeping our lovely senior’s company, in-house caregivers leave no stone unturned for seniors’ welfare.
This is crucial as independent adults of the family can’t act independently if they have one half of their mind and soul worrying whether mum and dad are okay or not. However, you don’t have to worry about it anymore. We are going to learn how in-home care is outstanding and why you need it as much as you do. But more importantly, let’s understand what in-home care is.
What is In-Home Care?
If you have some expectations from your in-home care provider, then it’s normal. That’s the least we can expect from the person who’ll stay with our senior relative. The best in-home care provider would care for your loved one like there’s no tomorrow. We want our older friends to be treated right even if we aren’t present there.
Exceptional senior home care is often personified in Atlanta with Skylark Senior Care center and their in-home care service for the elderly. Skylark and their trained caregivers are here to provide the elderly with the care they deserve. So if you’re hunting for a responsible adult who can take care of your beloved, call up Skylark Adult Center and schedule an appointment today!
But when you’ve got an in-home caregiver for your elder mate, make sure that you keep in mind these pointers before leaving your Caregiver with the elderly.
6 Things to Keep in Mind for In-Home Care
Let’s look at some tips that you should keep in mind after enrolling the elderly to an in-home caregiver.
1. Set some Ground Rules
When an in-home caregiver comes to your place, s/he needs to go by the rules of the house. Explicitly mention all the things like meals, baths, and chores that have to be taken care of within a time frame. If you have a preference for Caregiver’s abilities, document it along with the rules to be followed. If there is something crucial for your beloved senior’s routine, the document is for the Caregiver’s clarity and yours.
2. Tick-Tick: Prepare a Checklist
Now that you’ve already jotted down what has to be done, preparing a checklist should be a whole lot easier. Give that document list of preferences, chores, and needs a read and draft a daily checklist. This is going to be the job description of a caregiver. Often referred to as the “care plan,” this checklist can easily specify what daily routine your Caregiver has to follow so that the senior sticks to his/her routine.
Mostly, a checklist consists of mealtimes, what to offer for lunch, where to shop for groceries and memory retention exercises for the elderly with memory loss. One can accept/reject a candidate applying to be the Caregiver by figuring whether s/he will be up to the tasks or not.
3. Tailor-made Pants… & In-Home Caregivers
No home care provider offers services that every senior can avail. Old age is like a tranquil sea, and a misfit caregiver can bring a cyclone in the elder’s life. If you got a review that confident Caregiver is treating a senior in the best way, then it doesn’t mean that the Caregiver will be best suited for the elder one in your h9ouse.
Each person has different needs and wants, and no single caregiver can fulfill every need or want. That’s why interview your Caregiver and let him/her spend some time with the elder before deciding on it.
4. Hire from an Agency or Hire Privately?
You can either find your in-home care provider, or you can go through an agency. There are pros and cons of both, but in general sense, it’s always considered best to hire from the agency. But if you’ve got a referral from friends or family, then it won’t cause a shipwreck to interview them.
Many people place ads on the Face book Marketplace and get appropriate responses, but don’t forget to interview your prospects thoroughly—especially if they’re not from an agency. A referral would probably ask for a more significant wage than an agency caregiver though.
Whatever you choose, do make it a point to run a thorough background check on your Caregiver. Even if you’re hiring from an agency, ask them to show the credentials of the Caregiver.
5. Interviews, Interviews…
Step into a recruiter’s shoes for one single day and determine whether the candidate in question is good enough for Caregiver’s position or not. Keep all the factors in mind—from the personality of candidates to their skills and experience. After you’ve shortlisted a few candidates, you can make them spend some time with your beloved elder, and that’d be the litmus test.
If they understand a person’s needs and if they’re vivid enough to make your elder happy, sign them up. Don’t skip the interview, though.
6. Frisk your Caregiver (well, metaphorically)
When you finally shortlist on a caregiver, run a background check. If you feel that it isn’t necessary, at least talk to references. But never let a caregiver stay just because they gave you their word. Your beloved senior must be protected at all times. If you are hiring one from the agency, you can quickly get their criminal records sheet if you ask for it.
In-House Care is as simple as a phone call now. Don’t worry about tumbling your life upside down to match up with the elder’s schedule. Call an in-house caregiver and carry on with your life—or give Skylark Daycare a call; they’ll take care of the rest!