Helping With In-Home Caregivers

Jennifer hired us to help with her grandmother. She had hired some private pay caregivers that her friends had used in the past. Her grandmother is in her 90s and needs help around the clock. She had already decided on their pay rates and schedule but did not know where to go from there. Since the caregivers seemed kind and competent and her grandmother liked them she assumed everything would go smoothly. Since Jennifer lives out of town, she hired us to implement our "Assisted Living at Home" program. Our team came in to give training to each caregiver so that they understood the standard of care expected. We implemented our detailed notebook with emergency information, tracking of all medications given, and daily care notes. We visited weekly to get feedback from the caregivers on any concerns they had.

Several months into the process, one of the caregivers was having issues and needed to be fired. We met with the caregiver and coordinated the final pay for her work. The caregiver did not respond well and by the time she left, 15 minutes later, her demeanor had escalated and she left angry. There was no risk to our client because we walked her to her car at the end. We were able to speak with the team of caregivers individually to update them on the situation and make sure she was not allowed to return. Jennifer was grateful that she did not have to deal with the drama or fear of retribution for the decision.

Some of the issues we see consistently with private-pay caregivers are requests for a raise, overtime, and paid time off. There are often issues of performance such as laundry not getting done, or the grooming not being done well. Sometimes the loved one gets better and does not need as much care, but most caregivers will make a case to get as much work as they can, even if the family sees a need to decrease hours. When these issues come up the family is often hesitant to bring them up for fear of "retribution" to their loved one. Hiring the Aging Care Management team puts a layer of oversight so that the family does not have to fear retribution if issues arise.

Whether you use private in-home caregivers or have hired a company, below are just a few ways that Aging Care Management implements our "Assisted Living at Home" program to ensure the quality of care and to relieve the family of the stress of oversight.

Caregivers must have a background check and an application reviewed by the family for approval. Coaching with the family to discuss payment options, Holiday pay, and expectations with independent contractors. A central notebook is kept with Allergies, Medications, Diagnoses, Doctors, and emergency contacts.  Daily written notes are kept for each shift to record behaviors, toileting, eating, and any concerns. Medications are recorded daily with amounts given with times and amounts given. An initial training with written expectations is given to each caregiver to ensure quality of care. Weekly contact with each caregiver is done to ensure continued quality service,  to build a relationship of trust, and to hear concerns. If you know of someone who has caregivers working with their loved ones Aging Care Management can be a vital part of the care team to ensure the highest quality of care.