When beginning working with a senior care service, there are a lot of things to take into consideration. There are a lot of obvious concerns, of course. Is the care service going to help with my mom’s needs? Will they be able to get her to any doctor’s appointments? What if an emergency pops up? Will they know what to do? These are all valid and important questions that you are probably asking yourself.
Unfortunately, senior care is not quite that simple. There are a lot of things that fly well below the radar that also need to be addressed. While this isn’t quite a comprehensive list of those “unseen” questions, it will hopefully get you thinking about other things of a similar nature.
Paperwork
Okay, paperwork is at the top of nobody’s list of fun things to do. It’s still important, though. Not only do you need to worry about all of the paperwork that you’re supposed to fill out to ensure that your loved one is going to receive care and that payment arrangements are made, but you need to make sure that your caregiver service has done the same. There’s been a lot of news stories lately about the results of unlicensed or undocumented caregivers committing acts of abuse. One of the easiest ways to prevent this is to make sure that your caregiver service is doing their job with following local laws and training their caregiver staff thoroughly.
Money
Money is another subject that no one really is comfortable talking about. But, let’s face it: care can be expensive. A lot of people are reluctant to use a professional care service like Paradise In-Home Care for precisely that reason. There are a couple things to say about this, but the biggest and most important one is that you do have payment and financing options. Depending on your background, you might even have several choices. Senior care doesn’t always need to be paid for out of pocket. If you are unsure of how to afford care for a loved one, give us a call. We can schedule a free consultation with you and help you to review your choices. Hopefully, this can make the caregiving search a lot less stressful for you and your family.
Caregiver Skill
Yes, this is an important one, but it’s also something that isn’t as easy to figure out as it might look on the service. Every person is unique, and every person has a unique set of needs. Some caregivers are very skilled at what they do, but that doesn’t mean that they have the right skill set for your mom or dad’s specific situation. For example, if your dad suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, you want your in-home caregiver to be trained in memory care. If they have a history of heart disease, you want someone that is thoroughly trained in the event that there is a stroke or heart attack occurring. These little things are sometimes overlooked in the caregiver selection process, and that could be a potentially dangerous thing.
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