Today’s post is a little personal for me. Just be warned.
My grandma is about to turn 93 and she’s been in an upstate New York nursing home for more than three years. I checked in on her last time I was able to a couple weeks ago, but I routinely get updates on her from my mom, who visits her almost every day. The biggest complaint that my mom has is that the aides working with her are unpredictable. There’s a lot of turnover, and the nursing home has a problem retaining employees. Unfortunately, it’s not just the business side of things that is impacted here. The residents are hurt by this, too.
This is not uncommon. In fact, nursing homes and other senior care businesses across the country are impacted by this. On one hand, it makes a lot of sense. Caregivers have a tough job. If you’ve ever acted as a family caregiver, you know this. It’s long hours working thankless jobs. Many people are not well-suited to the job. Many people come to the profession because they think that it will be easy, and when it’s not they either continue halfheartedly or leave. Either way, hiring the wrong person has a negative impact on both the business and the families that are supposed to be receiving help.
Choosing the right caregiver service is important if you want your loved one to receive the best care that they can. Nursing homes and other larger facilities truly want what’s best for your elderly parent or grandparent, but thanks to the nature of the job and thanks to the false mindset that many enter this position with, a lot of these bigger services end up hiring the wrong people. And in the case of my grandma, she ends up receiving a lesser quality of care as a result. My mom and family are doing what they can to help improve this, but thanks to the nature of my grandma’s illnesses, moving her out of a nursing home is not safe. It’s an ongoing problem that the nursing home is working on, but there’s no easy solution. But thanks to the oversight that the nursing home and a few dedicated people provide, the problem is kept in check.
Being proactive and finding a caregiver that knows what they’re doing, has supervision, and truly cares about the people that they work with is important will have a positive impact on your family. Yes, it takes time to find this, and yes, it’s not always easy depending on the needs that your loved one has. But when you’re able to, finding a loving, compassionate caregiver will be the best way that you can provide for an elderly family member.
That’s where in-home care thrives. A service like Paradise In-Home Care has the ability to pick and choose which caregiver will work with your family and then find the best possible match to meet not just the physical needs, but also take into account the compassion side of things. Picking experienced and successful caregivers can help to drastically improve the quality of life that your loved one lives.
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