Finding a Provider - A Brief Overview of Senior Home Care

However, you will be required to insure and supervise the caregiver--as well as handle payroll, worker's compensation, and all non-medical in-home care Dallas applicable taxes.

Protect yourself and your property (or your loved one's belongings) by securing records and valuables in a lock box, collecting the mail yourself, and reviewing credit statements carefully each month.Remain Proactive Throughout the ProcessWhen looking for the right senior home care agency, find out whether they are a full-service home care agency, a referral agency, or an independent contractor. Before calling a senior home care agency, evaluate the following questions with the individual in mind. When will you need a caregiver in the home? What duties will the caregiver be required to perform? And, most importantly, what sort of specialized care will the patient need (2)? Now, it's your turn to ask the agency a few questions, such as: How long has the senior home care agency been providing home care services? What is the agency's screening process? Are references and criminal background checks required for each caregiver? How are emergencies handled by the caregiver during and after working hours? What is the supervision situation for caregivers in a home? What is the agency's policy on payroll and other applicable taxes for its employees? After you find a senior care provider but prior to hiring the individual, ask to meet with him or her for a brief introduction. At this point, you can interact with the caregiver to see if he or she would be a good fit (3).Hiring Privately Requires a Level of CommitmentIf you decide not to go through a full-service agency (or benefit from the basic screening method from a referral agency), you now have quite a few responsibilities on your plate in order to find a senior care provider that will prove reliable. You will have to conduct an interview, a criminal history background check, an elder abuse and sex offenders registry check, a reference check (request a minimum of three), a motor vehicle record check, communicable disease screening (it's recommended that caregivers receive a Hepatitis B vaccine prior to employment), as well as verify documentation of the caregiver's certification (4).Ideally, once you find a senior care provider you're happy with, you should provide the newly-hired caregiver with a detailed job description outlining job title, purpose, duties and responsibilities, necessary qualifications of caregivers, Americans with Disabilities job specifications, supervision of caregiver designation, and initial training requirements (5). Have the caregiver sign and date this document and keep a file saved in a safe place. All caregivers in a home should receive proper training, with you demonstrating the details of each responsibility as well as tasks that must be carried out on a daily basis. Usually, not all family members or friends will be able to demonstrate all the necessary senior homecare requirements. Often, it is this inability to carry out some required tasks that prompt a family member to find a senior care provider and hire a professional. Ensuring that the family member or friend is the point-person needs to be done from the start, and what the family member or friend doesn't know the caregiver should. In the case of an agency hire, however, the supervisor will be able to determine what exactly the care recipient needs and who can help.