In Home Care for the Elderly

In-home care for the elderly is now easy with many service-providing agencies offering trained caregivers. But before taking the assistance of the agency, some other matters have to be considered. These are briefly detailed here:

Caring elderly at home is now made convenient by the 'service providers' who are specifically trained in the field and they are capable of providing the service specifically required. With this, there is no need to take assisted care facility. Many people in the neighborhood or friends would have availed such facility and details of service providers can easily be obtained from them.

Type of assistance will depend on the type of home care viz., medical and non-medical. Non-medical care is less expensive and the care giver will not be having nursing degree. Service provider will be able to give a trained care giver.

Following points should be considered while availing the service of care givers:

1. Choose a care giver who is licensed.

2. Check the background of the care giver. Most agencies do this before hiring the care giver. But if a person is engaged directly and not through the agency, then it is absolutely necessary to check the background of the person.

3. The care giver must be one who adjusts to the schedule of the person who is to be cared and not overbearing.

4. The agency must have its own net work and must be willing to contact the doctor or hospitals or any other person as the need arises in case of emergency.

5. In case the care giver has to go on leave or he himself is ill, then the agency must be able to provide immediate replacement without any dislocation of the services.

6. Check the range of assistance the agency provides. There are agencies which provide services like hygiene assistance, meal planning and preparation, shopping, medication reminders, housekeeping, laundry, transportation to hospitals etc.

7. The cost of care giving depends on the type of service, whether full time or part time. If it is full time, the service is divided into eight hour shift.

8. Now specialized care is available for Alzheimer patients where the patient lives in a familiar surrounding. This type of care plan has been approved by Alzheimer Foundation of America and Dementia care Professionals of America.

9. If a family member is the primary care giver, then he should consider hiring a care giver on part time basis. With this, one will be able to spend time with the family. Apart from this, the primary care giver will have much needed time to relax and rejuvenate oneself.