Three Ways To Find The Best Home-Caregiver Match For You And Your Family

If you're searching for a home caregiver for a family member, you have to do more than just call and set up times for people to come by. When you arrange for in-home care, you have to take the caregivers' lives into account as well as possible mismatches in terms of what each person is expecting. These three actions and considerations will help you find a caregiver -- or more than one caregiver -- who will be the best match.

Draw Up A Written List Of Specific Duties

When arranging for the care, have everything you want done written down and discuss the items with the care agency. Don't leave the list of duties at the general stage; statements like "help with cooking and cleaning" are vague and leave a lot of room for a lot of misunderstandings. Many caregivers are expecting to handle medical care duties, such as changing dressings or helping the person in the home with certain tasks. However, a lot of home caregiving involves duties like cleaning the home -- things akin to what a maid would do.

If you need these cleaning duties done, for example, you need to spell those out from the start and ask the agency for caregivers who are willing to take on things like dishes, vacuuming, and other cleaning tasks. Otherwise, you could end up with a parade of caregivers who leave because they preferred to handle medical tasks instead.

Find Out How Backup Care And Days Off Are Handled

Even if a caregiver is coming over only a couple of times a week, that person may still need to miss some days due to illness or other issues. Ask the agency how many people may end up taking care of your family member, and find out what sort of notification system is in place when someone different is going to show up. For safety's sake, you can't let just anyone into your home; you have to know that the strange person at the door is really supposed to be there. You may want to have a set group of people who work with your family member; in other words, have a group of three or four known caregivers that the agency can pull from if the main caregiver is away.

Know What Care You Need And When

There are different types of in-home care. Sometimes you need acute care, such as after a surgery, while other times you need long-term or custodial care. Not all insurance policies pay for all types of care, and sometimes the family member really doesn't need much care after the acute stage is over. Be sure you know what type of care your family member needs and when. Your doctor can help you specify the types when you talk to the care agency.

If you need more help in finding a good in-home caregiver, talk to your doctor and to the hospital helping your family member. They should be able to walk you through the process and give you more questions to think about and to ask the agency.

For more information, consider contacting companies like Accu-Care Nursing Service Inc.