Finding the right professional caregiver for your senior loved one often takes time, adjustment, and patience. In the current caregiver crunch, when there are more HHA and CNA caregiver jobs than qualified caregivers, having a compatible and competent caregiver is valuable. But your loved one’s needs may change over time, perhaps due to memory loss, a stroke, or a new illness, and their current caregiver may not be suitable for the assistance needed. You may begin to consider requesting a new caregiver. Navigating a caregiver change requires honest communication between family members and your care manager and articulated expectations from family members. Here are a few things you should consider. Key Questions to Ask Before You Change CaregiversIf you are contemplating a caregiver change, first ask yourself if you have given the home caregiver enough time with your loved one. Take time to talk with your loved one’s professional caregiver and the home care services provider to share your concerns. They may be able to help navigate the issues. Also, be honest with each other and yourselves. A few fundamental questions to ask yourself and your loved one:
If you can’t resolve the issue with the caregiver and your home care agency. An experienced agency will work to see if they can provide another caregiver more suited to your needs. Before You Make a ChangeIf the current provider cannot meet your family’s needs or if your family isn’t comfortable staying with the agency, it is best to do your research before you make a switch. Some questions you should be prepared to answer:
Also, please keep in mind federal regulations require home health care agencies to be more responsive to their clients or risk losing Medicaid or Medicare funding. While it remains unknown when the changes will be fully implemented, it seems clear that new rules will continue to focus on the rights of the client and families. Going Forward with the ChangeYou and your loved one should never feel pressured to stay with a professional home health aide who does not meet your needs or an agency with which you remain uncomfortable.
If you and your loved one decide that changing home care agencies is the best option for everyone, be sure you have vetted a new home care provider before ending your agreement with your current provider. Here are the critical first steps to follow to help you:
Remember, too, to be patient as your loved one adjusts to a new professional caregiver. Sometimes, it just takes time. And sometimes, there’s a better fit. Either way, the critical thing to realize is that this is a problem that a superior home care agency like Visiting Angels can solve. Contact us today for a free in-home consultation. About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA has been providing high-caliber in-home care services for seniors and people with disabilities for over eighteen years. Countless families have benefited from our at-home living assistance, companion care, respite support, live-in and 24/7 home care, dementia and Alzheimer’s care, transitional aid, and private duty care services in Natick, Wellesley, Dedham, Needham, Stoughton, Brookline, Canton, Watertown, Jamaica Plain, Newton, Norwood, Roslindale, Upper Back Bay, Westwood, and neighboring communities. As a result of our exemplary home care service, Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has won the Best of Home Care Leader in Excellence Award; the Best of Home Care Provider of Choice Award; and the Best of Home Care Employer of Choice Award from the national client satisfaction survey firm, Home Care Pulse, for six years. We have been honored to receive the Boston Globe’s Top Places to Work award for seven years and one of the ten best places to work in Massachusetts in 2021 based on diversity and inclusion. Our dedicated and well-trained caregivers love their CNA jobs and HHA jobs.
0 Comments
It is so important to research and consider options carefully when looking into a home care agency to assist your loved one. Some agencies may not provide adequate screening or training of their caregivers. Also, finding a compatible caregiver for a client is crucial and should be a priority to the home care agencies you consider. Here are 15 questions to ask when contacting home care agencies. 1. How do you recruit caregivers, and what are your hiring requirements? In-home caregiver jobs have different requirements. Most highly regarded home care agencies require CNA or HHA certifications. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton, for example, hires CNAs and HHAs with experience in caregiving, and the caregivers typically have a strong employment history in caring for seniors. 2. What types of screening and background checks are performed on caregivers before you hire them? You want to ensure that the agency has checked the caregivers’ background through legitimate records and databases, not through an unverifiable source. 3. Is your agency bonded and insured, and does your agency meet all state and local requirements? Visiting Angels Newton/Canton is bonded and insured. It not only meets Massachusetts state requirements but is also an award-winning home care agency. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has won the Best Home Care Provider and Best of Home Care Employer awards from Home Care Pulse, an independent satisfaction and quality assurance company, for the past six years. 4. What kind of health-related training, if any, do your in-home caregivers have? It’s essential to ensure that the caregiver or home health aide you choose is appropriately trained for your needs. For example, Visiting Angels Newton/Canton provides an orientation class for new caregivers, Visiting Angels University, an online educational program, and a partner program with a local community college. Caregivers are taught how to assist clients with transfers through Hoyer lifts and gait belts, provide comfort to seniors with dementia, and other crucial skills to help ensure clients are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. 5. Does your agency provide specialized and continuing education for caregivers? A good agency will have caregivers trained to handle specific needs, such as dementia care, through specialized education. Some agencies may have advanced training programs available, such as Visiting Angels’ Palliative Care Training. 6. How are your training programs developed? Reputable agencies like Visiting Angels often provide training that has been developed with nationally recognized experts, such as their Dementia Care Professionals of America (DCPA), which is an Alzheimer’s Foundation of America-sponsored formal training and qualification program for caregivers. 7. What competencies will the caregiver have (e.g., lifting and transfers, homemaking skills, personal care skills including bathing, dressing, toileting, behavioral management training, cognitive support)? Not every situation will require a caregiver with all of these skills, but it is important to know what a caregiver can do. Be sure to share your loved one’s requirements and ask the agencies you are contacting if they have caregivers available with the skillsets needed to provide the appropriate support to them. 8. How do you assess what the caregiver is capable of doing? Not every caregiver is a match for every client’s needs. A good agency will conduct an initial assessment to determine the client’s requirements and evaluate each caregiver’s skills, strengths, and personality to provide a good match. 9. What is your policy on providing a substitute caregiver if a regular caregiver cannot provide the contracted services? Emergencies happen, but you need to know that your care needs will still be met. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton and other quality agencies have policies to ensure that clients are not left without a caregiver. 10. If there is dissatisfaction with a particular caregiver, can they be replaced “without cause”? Home care is very personal, and sometimes the right match between caregiver and client doesn’t happen right away. An agency like Visiting Angels Newton/Canton will work with you to find a different caregiver to make sure your loved one is cared for, and you have peace of mind. 11. Does the agency provide a supervisor to evaluate the quality of home care regularly? How frequently? Does supervision occur over the telephone, through progress reports, or in person at the older adult’s home? A combination of monitoring, such as telephone and in-home visits, is recommended to ensure the best level of care. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton assigns a case manager to each client and their family. The case manager supports the client and their family every step of the way. The office and on-call staff are also available to assist and support clients and their families twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. 12. How long has the home care agency been in business? A national franchise should have a high level of agencies with a long track record — at Visiting Angels, 60% of all franchises have been in business five or more years, which is more than 10% higher than the national average. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has been in business for over seventeen years. 13. How does the agency stay abreast of new techniques and research in home care? Franchise agencies usually have a strong network of ongoing skills training to draw on. Still, every agency should participate in local network and education opportunities to ensure they are providing the most current care modalities. The Visiting Angels Newton/Canton staff and owners participate in ongoing training and franchise conferences regularly. 14. What hours can the caregivers work? When are they available? You need to be able to schedule help when you need it, and a good agency will work to provide care. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton offers hourly care, 24-hour home care and live-in services, temporary or long-term care, weekend and holiday care, as well as respite for family caregivers. 15. Can we meet the caregiver before the person starts work? Meeting and approving the proposed caregiver before hiring helps to reassure you and prepare your loved one. Caregivers and clients build a special bond and feel like part of the family if there is a good match. Starting up home care for a senior loved one can be daunting. Too often, families don’t know what questions to ask, so they choose an agency that may not be the right fit. It’s so important to ask questions and be confident that the agency you choose can stand by you when you need them. We hope these questions will help you feel more confident in your choices. If you’re interested in more information about how in-home care can help your senior loved ones in Newton, MA, and surrounding communities, contact Visiting Angels Newton/Canton at 617–795–2727. About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA is an award-winning home care agency providing high-caliber home care services for seniors and people with disabilities for over seventeen years. Countless families have benefited from our home care assistance, senior companion support, respite for family caregivers, 24-hour and live-in home care, dementia, and Alzheimer’s care, transitional aid, and home health care services in Dedham, Needham, Natick, Wellesley, Stoughton, Brookline, Canton, Watertown, Jamaica Plain, Newton, Norwood, Roslindale, Upper Back Bay, Westwood, and neighboring communities. The non-medical assistance provided by Visiting Angels Newton/Canton home care can make a significant impact on your loved one’s happiness and quality of life. If you are interested in more information about how in-home care can help your senior loved ones, contact us today at 617–795–2727 to schedule a free in-home consultation. At Visiting Angels Newton/Canton, our personal care program is vital to the safety and well-being of seniors. Unlike companion care, which covers less intensive caregiving needs, personal care provides seniors with assistance for daily living activities such as dressing, grooming, and bathing. Given the sensitive nature of these activities, personal care providers need special skill sets to perform these tasks. One particularly important quality—that is often overlooked is gentleness. And not just physical gentleness, but emotional gentleness, too. Physical Gentleness When you consider the activities personal care entails, physical gentleness seems like a given. After all, you don’t want to be rough when helping seniors in or out of the shower or when brushing their teeth. Gentleness may suddenly seem like a tall order. When you help a person into and out of the shower, it takes a great deal of physical effort, and your main priority is injury prevention, not comfort. Meanwhile, simple activities like tooth brushing can be tricky to get right. Even with the best intentions, home care aides may struggle to apply the right amount of pressure or use the proper brushing technique. A mistake in one direction can lead to oral health problems. An error in the other direction can inflict pain during brushing, especially to sensitive gums. Without training or experience, caregivers can fail to strike the right balance when performing personal care tasks. And seniors who receive assistance may be unwilling or unable to speak up, causing them to endure pain and discomfort quietly. That’s why it’s so crucial that personal home care providers perform their jobs well and gently. For example, they know how to safely transfer seniors into the tub or shower without causing discomfort or comb an elderly adult’s hair while navigating painful knots. In short, they know how to attend to their clients’ physical well-being without compromising physical comfort. Emotional GentlenessIn personal care, it’s not enough to be physically gentle. Caregivers must also exhibit emotional gentleness toward seniors who feel uncomfortable and sensitive when needing personal care, which makes sense when you consider many of the private acts personal caregivers provide. Few of us would feel comfortable dressing or bathing in someone else’s presence. These emotions are only compounded by the loss of independence that many individuals feel in these moments. Navigating these moments takes a great deal of emotional intelligence and compassion on the part of caregivers; it’s a critical part of the job. If a client receives care and feels embarrassed or powerless afterward, a caregiver has failed to impact their quality of life positively. Compassionate caregivers understand this and take an equally gentle approach to the emotional components of personal care. They talk clients through care when appropriate, they stay quiet when silence is needed, and they remain attentive to the emotional sensitivities of caregiving. They also take time to check in regularly with their care recipient asking questions and seeking feedback to ensure they are not overstepping any unforeseen boundaries. At Visiting Angels Newton/Canton, we are passionate about providing in-home living assistance that is gentle, both physically and emotionally. Our caregivers are chosen because they share this same passion. We take the time to get to know your loved one personally, to understand their needs, and to put them at ease. Dignified, compassionate, gentle home care is always our top priority. Contact us today to request a free personal care consultation! Our CaregiversVisiting Angels Newton/Canton has an outstanding team of Caregivers who work tirelessly to provide quality care to our Clients. Our Caregivers are CNA or HHA certified. They must provide three professional references and have professional experience in the home care field. We perform both the MA state criminal record check (CORI) and national background screening(s) on each potential employee. Caregivers must pass an extensive home care exam and are interviewed at length by two Case Managers. Our new Caregivers complete a full orientation training, which includes a specialized dementia care program About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton:Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA is an award-winning local home care agency providing in-home care services to the elderly and people with disabilities. Countless families have benefited from our Alzheimer's home care, dementia care, companion care, senior care, respite support, transitional aid, and senior home care in Westwood, Norwood, Brookline, Watertown, Needham, Dedham, Canton, Stoughton, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Chestnut Hill, Roslindale, and nearby towns. We are honored to have been awarded Top Places to Work by the Boston Globe for five years. We have also earned the Best of Home Care – Leader in Excellence, Trusted Provider, Best of Home Care Provider, and Best of Home Care Employer by Home Care Pulse. We are proudly accredited by The Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts. While non-medical in nature, the care provided by Visiting Angels Newton/Canton can make a significant impact on your loved one's happiness and quality of life. Call us at 617-795-2727 for information.
Maybe you’ve been concerned about your mom recently. As she ages, you’re noticing a few worrisome signs that her needs at home are about to evolve beyond her independence. Sure, you’d love to stop by the house more frequently to help, but with a career and family schedule, it’s nearly impossible for you to take on this massive responsibility. It's a typical scenario in families, and it usually results in uprooting a senior to a nursing home or assisted living facility or retaining professional home care. However, people can be stubborn, especially parents who may be insecure about a type of "role reversal" happening. Your parent not only refuses to leave home, but Mom or Dad is rejecting the very idea of a professional caregiver. So how do you get them on board when they want to stay home but don’t want help from a professional caregiver? Here are five ways to find a caregiving compromise. Talk Through Their Fears — and YoursIt’s not easy for your parents to admit they need help. The thought of having another person in the home to help them perform tasks that used to be routine could make them quite uncomfortable. Of course, over time, that professional home health aide can become a close friend and partner, but it may take a while and trust-building. Work through these fears with your parents instead of forcing a solution. When an adult child becomes too controlling, the resistance from your parents is bound to increase. A 2004 study from SUNY Albany found this to be accurate, stating that participants were ambivalent about receiving care and “use a variety of strategies to deal with their ambivalent feelings, such as minimizing the help they receive, ignoring or resisting children’s attempts to control.” Though you may be frustrated by rejection and reticence, put yourself in their shoes. Be understanding, and once your parent feels understood, explain your point of view. Remember not to be patronizing or disrespectful, but share your genuine concerns about being able to stay home safely. More Dancing, Less WrestlingAn expert in geriatric communication and family relationships, David Solie, wrote a book about the best ways to navigate these difficult conversations. It was called “How to Say It to Seniors: Closing the Communication Gap with Our Elders.” Solie recommends the partnership approach and advocates for adult children to “put control on the table” rather than commandeering the process. He believes conversations about care should be “more dancing, less wrestling.” To that end, he offers many tools to talk in more concrete, visual ways about the current situation and the proposed solution. His "dance cards" provide go-to strategies on topics like resetting expectations and minding the gap, and his caregiver “mind maps” allow a caregiver to lay out in detail all the aspects of care to be considered. You could also keep a journal of your parents’ changing in-home senior care needs. All of these checklists and resources are especially helpful in getting buy-in from siblings as well, as your parents may not be the only ones opposed to bringing in-home care. Consider the RisksStaying home without any support can be risky. For one family, an aging spouse refused any at-home living assistance. The family has been worried about his waning mobility. Ultimately, he suffered a fall, which led to a hospitalization and, unfortunately, his passing — as he was not able to recover from the injuries he sustained. While no family can be fully prepared for a fall or other type of sudden health event, there are ways to prevent injuries and incidents that lead to such devastating outcomes — and having a professional caregiver as a presence in the home is one of them. Of course, not every fall results in such a tragic outcome; however, the road to recovery can be a turbulent one for a senior who has fallen. Along with doubling the risk of falling again after falling just once, the sheer financial impact can be crippling. All of this is to say, the risk of leaving Mom or Dad alone when he or she needs help isn't worth it, and you must discuss the risks with your parent. Work With a MediatorYou’ve explored every avenue of persuasion, using all the logic at your disposal, but it may be there is just no convincing Mom or Dad that this is the best option. That’s when bringing in a neutral third party to moderate the conversation could make a difference in the outcome. Sometimes your parents need to hear the options, risks, benefits, and challenges presented by someone who is not as emotionally invested as you are. A mediator may also help lessen the guilt burden many parents put on their children for considering home care. AARP offers these resources for finding a mediator, should this approach work best for your family. Present Options and Let Them ChooseEmpower your parents to decide on home care by gathering information on some providers. Ask for their input: what do they value in a home care company? What’s the budget? Talk about what a professional caregiver can do that they maybe never considered as an option: like providing companionship, or helping with housework and transportation to doctor’s appointments. Once you’ve gathered information on a few options, sit down together to discuss the pros and cons. Remember: even as you partner with a professional caregiver, you will still play an essential role as coordinator and advocate. Your opinion on a trusted in-home caregiver is equally valuable. Need more advice on building consensus on home care among the family? Visiting Angels Newton/Canton can help. Contact us today at 617-795-2727. About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA is an award-winning local home care agency providing high caliber in-home care services to the elderly and people with disabilities. Countless families have benefited from our Alzheimer's care, dementia home care, companion care, senior care, respite support, transitional aid, and at home living assistance services in Westwood, Norwood, Brookline, Watertown, Needham, Dedham, Canton, Stoughton, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Chestnut Hill, Roslindale, and nearby towns.
We are honored to have been awarded Top Places to Work by the Boston Globe for five years. We have also earned the Best of Home Care – Leader in Excellence, Trusted Provider, Best of Home Care Provider, and Best of Home Care Employer by Home Care Pulse. We are proudly accredited by the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts. While non-medical in nature, the care provided by Visiting Angels Newton/Canton can make a significant impact on your loved one's happiness and quality of life. Call us at 617-795-2727 for information. Many seniors struggle with chronic medical conditions that must be carefully managed, not just by health professionals, but also by professional caregivers. We spoke with several professional caregivers about common ailments among seniors that can complicate caregiving and how you can help improve the quality of life for your aging loved one. Mobility ChallengesLimited mobility poses more challenges to caregiving. Arthritis affects several adults over the age of 65, making it one of the most common chronic conditions seniors must manage. Osteoporosis, another common diagnosis in seniors, can increase the risk of fractures or falls, leading to significant disability. Falls caused by weak bones or arthritis can make it painful or difficult to complete day to day tasks and prevent your loved one from being physically active. Seniors with mobility problems are particularly at risk for injury inside the home. Keeping the house free of clutter or other potential hazards should be the first step to keeping your loved one with mobility challenges safe. Staying active is also essential for health and well-being for people of all ages, but this may be challenging for those with pain or difficulty moving. Consider speaking to your loved one's doctor to come up with a plan for staying physically active. This may mean a referral to a physical therapist or exercise physiologist who specializes in working around mobility difficulties. Swallowing DifficultiesDid you know that as we age, it is more common to have difficulties with chewing or swallowing? Missing teeth or poorly fitting dentures may cause chewing problems. Swallowing difficulties, called dysphagia, can happen when the esophagus becomes weak, or other physical changes occur. Nicole Keels-McGruder, a professional caregiver, states that caring for seniors with swallowing or chewing difficulties can cause significant challenges. She recalls a senior she cared for, “who could not drink thin fluids and all of her foods had to be pureed. A thickener had to be added to her drinks. Making sure that she was properly elevated during meals was also something that I learned the hard way. Because of her condition, I stayed in the room with her for an additional 30 minutes to make sure that all of her food was down.” Nicole added that the time it took to prepare, puree, thicken, and ensure proper positioning was much more demanding of her time and energy. Getting help with food preparation or supervision of meals can help your loved one if they have been diagnosed with dysphagia. A home health aide can help relieve some of the pressure in caring for and supervising a loved one with dysphagia or other swallowing concerns. Infectious DiseasesAccording to the American Academy of Family Physicians, older adults are more susceptible to infectious diseases. Common contagious illnesses that can impact the elderly include urinary tract infections and digestive and respiratory diseases, like pneumonia and influenza. It is also more challenging to diagnose people over 65 because they don't always present with typical symptoms. Instead, they can experience more generalized symptoms like loss of appetite, a change in mental status or incontinence. A difficulty with a diagnosis can lead to prolonged discomfort and a higher risk of hospitalization. For family caregivers, it is essential to understand the signs and symptoms of common infections to start treatment as soon as possible. Look for sudden changes in behavior, confusion, skin infections, chills, difficulty breathing, cough, fever, digestive disturbances, or lack of appetite. These symptoms should be evaluated immediately by a medical doctor who can determine the best course of action. An annual flu shot is also recommended for all seniors. Home Care Demands a VillageAll this is to say that you should genuinely consider your role in your aging parent's in-home care. Ailments like these are so common among the elderly, the degree of care your loved one needs is sure to evolve. While you may be able to handle things initially, are you genuinely ready to juggle a parent's worsening ailment with your own family and responsibilities?
Many of these conditions that impact older adults are chronic and require regular management. Getting help from a senior home care agency can be instrumental in ensuring your loved one’s quality of life. About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton Choosing the right home care provider is a difficult decision, and you want the best for your loved one. Our experienced and compassionate home caregivers have served countless seniors and disabled adults in Greater Boston with dignity and respect for over 14 years. As a result of our exemplary home care service, Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has won the Best of Home Care Leader in Excellence Award; the Best of Home Care Provider of Choice Award; and the Best of Home Care Employer of Choice Award from the national client satisfaction survey firm Home Care Pulse five years in a row. We have accreditation by Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts and have been awarded Boston Globe Top Places to Work. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton offers dementia home care, Alzheimer’s care, companion care, respite support, transitional aid, live-in care and other elder home care services in Wellesley, Natick, Newton, Needham, Brookline, Chestnut Hill, Canton, Westwood, Dedham, Water-town, Stoughton, Roslindale, Norwood, and nearby towns. The services provided by Visiting Angels Newton/Canton will be sure to make a positive impact on your loved one’s happiness and quality of life. Call us today at 617-795-2727 for more information. |
AuthorVisiting Angels Newton/Canton is an award-winning in-home care agency that provides high quality home care to seniors and disabled adults in Greater Boston, MA. Archives
July 2022
Categories
All
|