Your loved one needs assistance, and you need to make decisions around their care. There are several options out there that include an in-home care professional, assisted living facilities, skilled care facilities, and hospice care. Choosing the right fit is the key to meeting your loved ones’ needs. Selecting the right Caregiver for your needs is crucial.
Selecting the Right In-Home Care Professional
Selecting a professional to assist in-home is paramount to creating a safe and helpful environment. This will allow you comfort in knowing that care will be provided for them as they stay at home. This is especially important if there are signs of dementia or early on-set Alzheimer’s. Safety for them is the key to the success of staying at home. Finding a professional to care for them will be one of the greatest decisions you will make.
What Are Your Needs?
Not all in-home services are the same.
Companionship Services: such as help with supervision, recreational activities or visiting are one way to keep your loved one involved yet ensure they are being monitored.
Personal Care Services: Assisting with bathing, dressing, medication reminders, eating, toileting, exercising, and other personal care.
Homemaker Services: helping with errands, cleaning, food preparation, and shopping.
A Licensed Care Provider would be needed for Skilled Care Services: assisting with medical needs, wound care, medication distribution, injections, physical therapy, and other medical needs. Normally a Home Health Care Agency coordinates these services when ordered by a physician.
Do Your Research on In-Home Care Professionals
Have a conversation with your Physician to see what the needs are for staying at home. Create a care list of what the needs are and whether can they be met at home. Do your research on what options are available to you for In-Home Care. Ask friends and family if they have any recommendations. Are there agencies in the area that have recommendations? Have a conversation to see if staying at home is the right fit for your loved one.
What Are In-Home Care Services?
In-home care services are agencies in the community that provide a variety of services for differently abled individuals in the comfort of their own homes. The mission of in-home care agencies is to provide attention to your or your loved ones’ needs and health. Medical care professionals aid patients who need specific medical assistance and are usually trained professionals.
Home care services can be provided to clients in their homes or wherever they prefer, (e.g., assisted living facility, relatives home). These personalized care services can be provided 24/7 or as needed depending on the client’s wants/needs.
Most senior in-home care services will meet with you to provide an assessment of what your needs are and the number of hours you may want to use. They also can provide you with a plan of service to meet your loved ones’ needs.
Choosing the Right In-Home Care Agency
Your loved one may not want to leave their home and be uprooted into a different environment. They enjoy the comfort of their space and furnishings. There is comfort in knowing that friends and family can stop by to visit and spend time with them.
How do you select the right senior in-home care service company to provide them with the right care? Take the time to do your research. Utilize the internet to look for agencies that can provide you with services that will meet your needs. Look at recommendations, and reviews, and enquire with medical community members to see what their suggestions are. This advice may help you narrow down the field.
Look at the home care agency’s credentials. How long have they been serving the community; How do they recruit and train their staff; what do they provide in after-hours service; what do they do to ensure safety in the home; is there a coordinator assigned to your loved one to assist with concerns; what suggestions do they have for a care plan.
Caregivers Are the Key
Be sure to enquire with the agency to see if they provide background checks / drug screening on their employees. Are the Caregivers working directly for the agency or are they hired by a different company and made available to the agency? This may cause issues with responsibility for employee performance and availability.
Be sure to inquire about caregiver training. Consider asking the following questions:
- What process do they use to ensure proper training is provided both in-house and out in the field?
- Do they receive a good combination of theory and practice?
- What follow-up is provided once the Caregiver is out in the field?
- What is the method of communication between multiple caregivers that may be needed in the home?
Request to speak to one of their Caregivers to ask questions firsthand. Check to see whether they are informed, competent, attentive, engaged in what they do, and could meet your needs.
24/7 In-Home Care Services
Can the agency meet your needs 24/7? Can they be contacted in the middle of the night if something comes up out of your control? Check to see if they provide an on-call expert should an emergency come up. Review the emergency procedures in case something happens at home.
Quality Assurance Checks
It is important that the agency be aware and have a method to follow up on In-Home Care. Consider reviewing the following items prior to signing on with any agency.
- How do they match the right Caregiver to the Client?
- What method do they use to check on the quality of service given daily?
- How do they interact with the customer to ensure that the care is adequate?
- Do they have a tracking method for significant events and occurrences?
- What does the communication between the agency and the customer look like?
- Do they follow up in the home to ensure the client’s well-being?
- How frequently do care plans get reviewed and updated?
Finding the Right In-Home Care Professionals
An in-home care service agency might be the perfect solution to give your loved one their desired support. With the upward trend for personal care providers, the suggestions mentioned in this article might help you find the right match. It can be difficult to find the right Caregiver. Allowing a service to screen and employ these employees takes that task away from you. It also can reduce the issues that come along with having to deal directly with employees.
The right amount of care and support can go a long way for you and your loved ones.
Promedcare | In-Home Care Services in Fremont, Columbus, Norfolk, & Blair, NE
Being a family-owned business, the owners of Promedcare are engaged in the day-to-day operations and get to know both clients and caregivers on a first-name basis. Having both owners and staff present vs. working remotely with our clients creates a feel of FAMILY and allows Promedcare to create an environment of care that reduces turnover and increases dedication to the brand. We provide 24/7 service with the ability to interact with Senior Management and the owners as needed.
Promedcare has evolved into a caring business that focuses on individuals’ specific needs and preferences. This type of care fosters independence, happiness, and a sense of familiarity by acknowledging older individuals’ desire to age in the comfort of their own homes.
For some, it’s to provide extensive ongoing care for an aging senior. For others, we offer a much-needed break or, respite care – such as a night out with a spouse, vacation, or simply a few hours of quiet time at home – for family members who provide regular care. We offer a wide range of care services customized for each individual client.
Promedcare services include Personal Care Services, Companion Care Services, Dementia / Alzheimer’s Care Services, and Respiratory Solutions.
Contact us today to see how Prodmedcare can help you!