Finding the right home care provider for your spouse, parent, or grandparent can be difficult. Thanks to our Select Your Caregiver® program, Visiting Angels® makes it easy for care recipients and their families to find a compatible home care provider. We’ve been matching clients with qualified, skilled, and compassionate caregivers for more than two decades. We know what it takes to find the right fit, and we understand how important and impactful your choice of caregiver will be. If you’re currently looking for a home care provider and you’re unsure what to look for in a caregiver, don’t worry. By focusing on the following three qualities, you will quickly narrow down the list of potential caregivers. 1. Caregiving Skills & Experience Home care is a wide-ranging industry, encompassing many different types of care services. On one end of the spectrum is companion care, which provides aging and disabled individuals with a helping hand for necessary, day-to-day activities. On the other end, are various types of specialized care for individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities. If your loved one only requires essential in-home living assistance — help running errands, making meals, doing laundry — a companion care provider will be suitable. Other types of care will require a caregiver with specialized skills and experience. This includes physical assistance, as well as specialized care services such as Alzheimer’s care and dementia care. Before meeting with in-home care agencies, it’s a good idea to draw up a list of tasks that your loved one will need from his or her caregiver. Consider researching caregiving activities online so that you don’t forget anything. This will also allow you to familiarize yourself with which types of caregivers provide which kinds of services. When meeting with potential in-home care agencies, it is helpful to review this list with them in detail. Ask them whether they provide each of the services your loved one will need. Also, check whether the caregivers are CNA or HHA-certified caregivers; they have training or experience providing these services to seniors. Finally, make sure that they are adequately licensed for whatever level of care your loved one requires. 2. Choose a Home Care Aide with PersonalityWhen hiring a home care provider, a caregiver’s personality can be as important as his or her professional skill set. On a basic level, this will ensure that your loved one trusts his or her caregiver. Without this trust, high-quality home care service can be unhelpful. On a deeper level, the right personality fit can be the difference between substandard care and the right caregiver. Your loved one will spend several hours a week with their caregiver, so it’s vital that a strong relationship is established. When personalities clash, home care visits are a chore for both parties. However, with the right fit, a caregiver can feel like a new member of the family. As you meet with caregivers, it’s crucial that you and your loved one get a feel for each caregiver as a person. Will your loved one feel comfortable receiving care from this individual? Will your loved one enjoy conversations or quiet time in this person’s presence? Will you and your family feel at ease with this caregiver looking after your loved one? Trust your instincts and make sure that you, your loved one, and your family are happy with the final decision. 3. Caregiver Availability & SchedulingThe third important factor when choosing a compatible home care provider is scheduling and availability. While some seniors only require a few hours of care every week, others require assistance on a full-time basis or even 24-hour care. The more intensive your loved one’s caregiving needs, the more challenging it can be to find a caregiver with suitable availability.
At the same time, many seniors are set in their day-to-day routines and preferences. It’s important that these routines are maintained or accommodated when scheduling home care visits. If your loved one enjoys sleeping in, early morning visits could be disruptive. If they enjoy afternoon walks, you’ll want to make sure that a caregiver is there to accompany them. While scheduling and availability are important in a home caregiver, sometimes it’s worth making the sacrifice for the right caregiver. If, for example, you’ve found a caregiver with the ideal skill set and personality, but your loved one would need to take their daily walk an hour later each day, a slight change in your loved one’s routine may be worth it to get the caregiver you feel is the right fit. Are you looking for qualified home care providers in your area? Contact us today for a free in-home consultation. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has an outstanding team of caregivers who work tirelessly to provide quality care to our clients. Contact us at 617-795-2727 for a free in-home consultation!
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If you have a loved one who requires in-home care, you will want to determine which type of services they need. The two most common types are companion care and personal care. Companion care focuses on activities like errands, meal preparation, and light housekeeping. Personal care covers these tasks, but also includes activities that require physical assistance, such as dressing and bathing. Both types of services require different skills from home caregivers. However, the physical aspects of personal care can be quite skill-intensive. Also, individual care recipients often suffer from chronic health conditions or a form of disability, further highlighting the importance of having experienced caregivers. So if you’re looking for a personal caregiver to assist a loved one, here are the skills that matter most. Skills to Look for in Personal Care ProvidersPhysical Assistance
Personal care or private duty care is typically distinguished from companion care by tasks involving physical assistance. These include things like dressing and grooming, bathing and toileting, mobility assistance, or helping an individual from one position to another. Any time that a caregiver provides physical assistance, they need to ensure the client’s safety and comfort: This requires more skill than many people realize. So if you’re hiring personal care services, it’s crucial that you find a home care provider who can keep your loved one safe and comfortable. Cleanliness & Hygiene Many individuals who receive personal care are at increased risk of bacterial or viral infections. If an infection occurs, many of them are also at increased risk of hospitalization. Caregivers can help prevent infections in elderly adults by maintaining high standards of cleanliness and hygiene. They take care to frequently clean and sanitize their hands. They help clients maintain high standards of personal hygiene by assisting in their bathing, dressing, and laundry needs. Personal care is only one part of preventing infections among care recipients. However, it’s vital that you choose a home care aide who understands the role of cleanliness and hygiene. Knowledge & Awareness If you speak with professional caregivers or care administrators, they’ll tell you how necessary experience is to care providers. One area where this knowledge proves useful is client monitoring. As caregivers tend to their clients, they monitor for changes in behavior, cognition, coordination, strength, emotional wellness, and other areas. This way, they can detect signs of decline early and alert the client or the client’s family, and case manager promptly. Caregivers may also keep care logs upon the client’s family’s request. Many of these changes are subtle or gradual, so they go unnoticed without a caregiver present. However, with a knowledgeable and observant personal care provider, they’re less likely to go undetected. Well-informed caregivers also know how to respond in unusual and urgent situations. Many caregivers have the fundamental skills for day-to-day caregiving, but when the unexpected happens, you want an experienced and educated professional. Communication & Compassion The best caregivers have excellent interpersonal skills, and personal care providers are no exception. Think about some of the activities that personal care entails. Few people feel comfortable dressing, bathing, or going to the bathroom with the assistance of another person. It takes an extraordinary level of respect, understanding, and care to put clients at ease during these activities. The best personal care providers possess these qualities in spades. Skilled caregivers are also capable communicators, both with their clients and their clients’ families. Caregivers who communicate poorly will often leave clients confused about why specific care tasks are being performed or feeling like their wishes and preferences aren’t being considered. Proper caregiver-client communication can resolve these issues, improving quality of care. It’s also important that caregivers communicate with family members of their clients. Without adequate communication, problems can go unreported, important care tasks can go unperformed (or get performed twice), and trust between care providers and family members might erode. Active communication will ensure that everyone is on the same page and working toward the same goals. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has an outstanding team of caregivers who work tirelessly to provide quality care to our clients. Contact us at 617-795-2727 for a free in-home consultation! |
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
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