If your elderly family member is no longer able to care for themselves or perform certain activities and tasks, one of your best options – if not the best option – would be to choose live in care. With a live in caregiver, your loved one can get the assistance they require, right in the comfort of their own home. Your worries are taken care of as well, as the caregiver can give you regular news and updates on the condition of your loved one, including their moods and levels of activity. But how do you choose the best live in caregiver for your family member? Here’s how.
Make a list of what they need
It is important for you to determine what it is your loved one really needs. Do they have a specific condition, such as Alzheimer’s or dementia, or do they have some physical limitations or disabilities? Do they have issues with dexterity or coordination, as is the case when someone has Parkinson’s disease?
The needs of your elderly loved one will determine the level of care they require. Sometimes, elderly family members are still able to care for themselves, but need a companion to assist them with some tasks, such as cleaning, shopping, or cooking. A person with memory problems but who is still generally healthy may simply require someone to pay the bills, remind them of their medication, and so on. It really depends on what your family member needs.
Once you have assessed what your family member needs, then you can make a list of your live in caregiver requirements. How often do you need them, and what do you expect them to do? Some of the most common services provided by live in caregivers include cooking, helping the patient with bathing and dressing up, housekeeping, shopping, medication, and more.
Some patients may require extra care and expertise from the caregiver, such as the changing of dressings, the administering of medication, physical therapy, creating meals and diets based on specific requirements, and the like.
Your top considerations
Of course, when choosing a caregiver, you also need to determine other considerations. Do some research and find out how much it would cost to hire a live in caregiver. Also, try to find out which is better: hiring a live in caregiver on your own, or hiring one through a live in care agency? Keep in mind that if you hire a caregiver on your own, you will have to take care of all governmental requirements, such as insurance, health care, etc. But if you choose to decide on care at home for your family member through an agency, the agency will be the one responsible for all of these, and you have the benefit of more experienced, skilled, and professional caregivers as well.
