Tips For Selecting a Care Giver

As many members of the “Baby Boomer” generation approach retirement age, many of them are faced with the dilemma of how to best care for their aging parents. If you or someone you love is in need of an at-home care giver, there are some important questions to consider before making a decision, beginning with an assessment of your caregiver needs.

Choosing A Caregiver: Your Needs: A Self-Assessment Checklist

• How mobile are you? (or the person requiring care) Can you walk, stand, and sit, for long periods? Do you require assistance in any of these areas

• Do you, or the person in question, require assistance with medication management?

• Do you, or the person in question, require assistance with money or financial management manners?

• Do you, or the person in question, require assistance with daily activities, such as bathing, dressing, housecleaning, cooking, errand running, etc.

• Do you, or the person in question, have a preference either for or against the particular gender, background, etc. of a potential caregiver?

Choosing A Caregiver: Make a Job Contract

After you have assessed your needs and expectations, write (or have someone else write on your behalf) a detailed job description. This will save both you, and potential caregivers, a lot of time. Assessing your needs is important, but it is just as important to make sure that a job contract is also drafted and put in place before any person begins employment within your home. A job contract should include at least the following:

• Hours of Work

• A description of how and when wages are to be paid

• A list of behaviors not permitted while working in your home, which may include, but are not limited to: smoking, use of foul language, excessive tardiness, alcohol consumption, excessive personal telephone calls, etc.

• The caregiver’s Driver’s License and Social Security Number

• The Terms of Termination and Employment: How much notice is required for termination, how much notice an employee is required to give before leaving, etc.

• The signatures of both employer and employee.

Choosing a Caregiver: Where To Look

There are many different local and national caregiver referral agencies, as well as countless ads in local papers and online services, from persons seeking employment as caregivers. Many people also find their caregiver through the referrals of trusted friends and family. Regardless of where you decide to search for your next caregiver, make sure that the people that you interview, and the person that you select, possesses the following and is trained in the following areas:

• Updated CPR Methods

• Certified RN, RNA, CNA or comparable certifications and experience. If you are searching for someone to provide services for a mobile individual capable of managing their own daily needs, than this requirement is less stringent.

• Accreditations

• Extensive, verifiable experience in similar caregiver environments. There is a big difference, for example, between caring for a mobile, lucid elder adult, and caring for one who is bedridden or in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Choosing a Caregiver: Evaluating The Cost

As a person ages, more and more of their income, including social security and other retirement revenue sources, becomes devoted to health care costs. This is one of the many reasons why having a budget in place is so important, because without proper management, finances can quickly become difficult to manage and control. Different types of caregivers, as well as different types of caregiver referral agencies, charge different rates. Before you make any type of financial decision, you should first make an appointment with your certified financial planner, who can help you create a budget in order to better determine your caregiver price-range. The caregiver that you choose will have a lasting impact on your physical and emotional well-being, so it is important to choose wisely.