Finding a good home caregiver, where do I start?

Finding a good home caregiver is not an easy job. There are several types of home caregivers to choose from and first you need to determine what is best for you. This depends on what you need them for. Is the person who needs the care able to perform daily tasks on their own? Are they able to feed themselves if someone makes them food, or do they need to be fed? Are they fully alert and able to help themselves at all? Can they be left alone at all – do they have dementia or Alzheimer’s disease? Do they have any medical needs such as an indwelling catheter or feeding tube?

Home caregivers range from non-certified assistants to licensed nurses. Non-licensed personnel perform tasks such as cleaning, shopping and driving the client to appointments. Certified aides can perform more personal duties such as bathing and feeding a patient. Licensed nurses should only be hired when you have true medical needs such as a home ventilator or a patient who is very unstable. They can administer medications through feeding tubes, change catheters and are trained in preventing bedsores and other serious issues that arise with bed-bound patients.

No matter what type of caregiver you need you should check out their references and the references of the agency where you find them. They should be licensed and bonded and full background checks should be completed on anyone who will be working in your home.

Check out the agency with the better business bureau or dept of consumer affairs to see if anyone has filed a complaint and what it is for. To find agencies you can look on the internet or in the phone book, you can also contact your local hospital for a list of names. Be aware though that just because they are on a hospital list doesn’t mean they have checked them out.

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