Finding an In-Home Caregiver
Entrusting your parent's care in the hands of a stranger can cause immense anxiety. It is hard to know which home care companies are the best and whom to trust. Doing an internet search and reading reviews is not enough. A care management company is often the best route because of their ability to locate vetted caregivers based on your custom needs.
Starting the caregiver search
I recently had the privilege of helping Sally and her mother, Ms. Brown. Sally called asking for help to find caregivers for her mother. Sally's mother has dementia, is 94 years old, and lives alone. Her dementia is starting to progress, she has forgotten to take her medications, and is falling more often. Ms. Brown has called on her neighbors to help, but doesn't realize what a burden it puts on them. Sally and her brothers have been doing the best they can to help but she lives out of town and has to travel two hours to see her mom every week . Her brother lives in town, but travels for work.
The comprehensive assessment
Sally asked me to do a comprehensive assessment to help see how much help her mom might need. During this assessment, I did a home safety check and a review of Ms. Brown's medication. I asked her about her meals and checked on the food in the refrigerator to see if it matched. We discussed her grooming and bathing habits. Since Ms. Brown's clothes were wrinkled and her hair was messy, I was concerned that her perspective of her self-care was distorted by her dementia. She had a walker near her chair, but when she got up she did not use it and I had to bring it to her since she was unsteady on her feet. Sally reached out to her Mom's financial planner to make sure her income is streamlined, so we can discuss the budget for her care. They had updated their legal documents, but had not shared their Advance Directive for Healthcare with Ms. Brown's doctors or hospital.
Making headway
Sally and I met after the assessment to review my report and recommendations. We made an initial plan for her to interview caregivers to stay with her mom several days a week. We discussed what the next steps will be when her need for care increases. In the meantime, she has asked me to be available to be at the hospital in case of an emergency.
If you know of someone whose loved one lives at home alone we can help them with a comprehensive assessment to know where to start. Navigating this time in your loved one's life can be very complicated and you need experts who can present you with the best options and protect your family.
Let us help you take the next steps. visit www.agingcaremanagement.com to get started.
Take a deep breath – we will help you take the next steps.
