It’s estimated that in 2021, over 50% of those aged 65 will require some form of long-term care during their lifetime. They’ll need help with some or all of the activities of daily living: eating, bathing, dressing, moving from one place to another, and using the bathroom. It’s not something anyone looks forward to, but we’re living longer than we ever have, and most of us will need some assistance in our later years.
Finding the proper care for your loved one can be a daunting task. Unless you can get a referral from someone who’s already researched selecting the right caregiver or agency that provides caregivers to families, you’ll need to invest some time finding the right match for your loved one.
To assist you, here are five tips for finding a caregiver that will meet the needs of your family member.
1. Understand your loved one’s needs.
How much care do they need physically and emotionally? What type of personality would mesh well with theirs – are they an introvert or an extrovert? Probably no one knows your loved one as well as you, which gives you a good head start and a firm foundation for your search.
2. Understand what’s financially possible.
This aspect can sometimes be a bit sensitive for your loved one, who may not have shared information about their financial situation or insurance in the past. You’ll need to analyze what you can do financially and build their care around that.
3. Involve the whole family – including your loved one.
There’s no need to carry the burden of finding the right care for your loved one by yourself if you have family members willing to help. Get them involved early in the process and involve your loved one. Their input can be very valuable in your search.
4. Decide whether to use an agency or hire privately.
Finding the right person to care for your loved one can be a daunting task. A big decision you’ll need to make is if you’re going to find an individual caregiver yourself or work with an agency. If it’s a private hire, you’ll need to draft a job description, conduct interviews, run background checks, and check references. An agency will take care of all of those details for you, and they’ll quite likely have a good match for you from within their carefully screened team of caregivers.
5. Ask around; word of mouth can be a powerful tool.
We appreciate it when a friend tells us about a restaurant they’ve enjoyed or a good book they’ve read. Perhaps a friend has personal experience finding the right person for a loved one, or they know someone who has. Connect with them and ask them if they can help you; it never hurts to ask.
Compassionate Care for Seniors in Alabama
Our mission at Seniors Prefer Homecare is to provide seniors with the highest quality of life possible through our in-home care services. All of our caregivers are highly qualified, they’re well-trained, and we’ve done the screening for you. Seniors Prefer Homecare is licensed and insured.
Contact us today and schedule your Free Initial Assessment. Based on the assessment, a professional home care consultant will design a personalized care plan for your loved one, which. Everyone’s needs are different; there’s no cookie-cutter approach with us. Best of all – we’ll treat you like family.