Blog on caregiver, cleaning and health care related matters.
Jan-19-2022 | aging in place, Alzheimer's Care, Caregiver Service, Companion Caregiver, Dementia Care, Elderly Care, Home Healthcare, In Home Care, Long Term Care, Outdoor Activities for Seniors, Polish Care Services, Retirement Plans for Seniors, Senior Care Services, Spring Activities, Summer Activities for Seniors, Uncategorized,
Caring for a loved one that is elderly or disabled is not easy. More often than not, family caregivers are trying to balance work and other family obligations on top of their caregiver duties. This can result in stress and eventually caregiver burnout. Hiring a professional caregiver can help alleviate some of this stress. But the process of finding and hiring a caregiver is overwhelming. This article provides an overview of what you need to know about hiring a caregiving agency.
Types of Professional In-Home Care
The type of professional in-home care you and your loved one chooses depends entirely on their individual needs. Many people frequently start with what is known as hourly care services. A professional caregiver is hired to come for a set number of hours each day or on certain days depending on the need. Some families use hourly service as a way of filling in gaps of time when someone is unable to be home. A disabled person may want a caregiver to come help them with personal care in the morning and evening, and choose hourly care for that reason.
Live-in caregivers provide live-in care services and are with the clients they serve because they live in the home with them. A family member or client will choose this option if they do not have a solid care support system close by, or if they require professional support beyond what family and friends can provide.
How Professional Caregivers Assist Clients
When people hear the word “caregiver” they traditionally associate the term with a person who helps a person bathe, dress, eat, go to the bathroom and walk around. These are known as activities of daily living or ADLs and fall under the category of personal care. While this is the most common type of assistance that caregivers offer clients, it’s far from the only type of care or the end of a caregiver’s duties. Care types include:
Personal care: Assistance with ADLs, meal preparation, laundry, and light housekeeping, medication reminders.
Companion Care: Assistance with tasks like getting mail, feeding pets, transportation, errand running, and activities like walking, playing games or attending events.
Homemaking Services: Homemaking services focus on activities around the home such as light cleaning, making the bed, dusting, doing laundry, and organizing as necessary.
The Advantages of Hiring a Caregiving Agency
Some people choose to hire professional caregivers on their own. But for the uninitiated, hiring a professional caregiving agency is beneficial. Caregiving agencies hire trained caregivers that they have vetted and the caregivers that they send out are licensed, insured, and bonded.
A professional caregiving agency is also well-versed in figuring out how to best assist clients. This is why an agency often begins with an evaluation that identifies what a client needs assistance with. The results of this evaluation may identify more areas of assistance than what is initially sought. This data will help the family and client determine what type of care they want. And the agency will also have a better idea of the caregiver they may assign to assist.
Polish Care Services is a professional caregiving agency that helps clients with their personal care and companion care needs. To learn more about the services we provide, reach out to us by contacting 860-255-8278 today.