How can I find the Best Caregiver for my Parents?

By Lauren Tarrant, RN (originally published at WellBeyondCare)

More than ever, we live in a long-distance society and finding the best caregiver for your parents requires a lot of consideration. To begin with, being far away and entrusting your aging parents in the hands of others may be a tough decision, but knowing that they are in the good hands of a trusted and qualified caregiver can lower stress, give you and your parents piece of mind, keep them out of the hospital, and actually prolong the length and quality of life for them.

Before making any decisions, it is important to know your options in choosing the best caregiving means for your parents. There are a number of live-in facilities offering caregiving, and it’s up to you to decide which option best suits your parent’s individual caregiving needs. It is vital that you get to know each healthcare facility and what they have to offer, which will allow you to decide whether or not you are making all the right decisions for your folks. It is advisable at this juncture to try and locate a healthcare professional who knows the good versus poor facilities in your area. You might be shocked at the exorbitant cost of housing your parents in a healthcare facility, and may decide that hiring a in home private caregiver is actually the best option.

In-Home Care: An Excellent Health Care Option

In most cases, having to leave one’s home to move into a nursing home or assisted living facility gives elderly patients unnecessary anxiety and stress. Alternatively, hiring an in-home caregiver to come take care of your parent in their home where they are comfortable and familiar alleviates this stress. They can get the same health care and assistance they require from the comfort of their home through personalized home health care services.

There are a number of different levels of home caregiving at a varying range of pricing that you can choose from, depending on the particular needs of your parents. You can employ a geriatric care manager to help you determine which level of care or qualification your parents might need. Qualification levels include Registered Nurses (RN), Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN), Skilled Caregivers, and Companions or Homemakers. Their qualifications and expertise may vary, but these professionals and skilled health care workers provide assistance to their elderly home care clients in their clients’ own homes.

The responsibilities that these home health care professionals provide range from assisting their elderly clients undertake their daily tasks of living, such as taking a bath, using the toilet and administering medicine, to other routine activities that aging patients may need help with, such as going to a doctor appointment, grocery shopping and doing laundry.

What You Need to Know About a Home Care Provider

As soon as you have decided to hire a home health caregiver for your parents, the next thing you need to do is decide which duties that caregiver will need to perform to effectively care for your parents. For instance, you may address the following points concerning your caregiver of choice:

• Skills or qualifications
• Recommendations from past patients or clients
• Number of years experience in caregiving
• Accreditations and licenses
• Confidentiality and client privacy policies
• Records of inspections, ratings, and client satisfaction
• Criminal background check

Apart from these concerns, you should also consider your budget. Hiring an in-home caregiver is typically much more affordable than nursing home or assisted living facility care. But more importantly, it is all about looking for a caregiver that offers the service that your parents require, at a rate you can afford.

Hiring an individual skilled caregiver is an excellent way to save money while building a close personal relationship with a high quality care professional. But in saving money, make sure you are NOT endangering your parents by hiring an unscreened or unqualified caregiver.

About the Author

Lauren Tarrant has been licensed Registered Nurse for 36 years. Her career led her to work primarily with seniors in Gero-psych, Home Health and Hospice settings. During that time she held leadership positions in Sales and Marketing, Compliance, Operations, Customer Service, and Clinical Outcomes. Ms. Tarrant joined Well Beyond Care as a co-founder to continue to provide a platform for seniors and infirmed, to Self-Direct Care (with the guidance of their RN) at an affordable price; nation-wide. As Chief Nursing Officer, it is Ms. Tarrant’s mission to provide access and resources to those that are in the gap- ineligible to receive Medicaid Assistance but also unable to afford the exorbitant cost of traditional in-home care or a long term setting (Nursing Home).

About Well Beyond Care

[EDITOR: I’ve known founders Lauren Tarrant and Jeffrey Fry for many years, well before I moved from Austin to the Dallas area, and I’ve always been intrigued by their unique business model.] Well Beyond Care gives both caregivers and those who need care the tools to manage their in-home care online. Caregivers, registered nurses and geriatric care managers can use the website to be matched with Careseekers and their family members who are looking for care, set their wages and weekly schedule, receive weekly payment, and build their resume and portfolio with real experience. Careseekers, or family members looking for someone to help care for their parents or loved ones, can use the website to be matched with caregivers who best match their specific care needs, monitor their caregivers’ schedules, and make payment online and receive personal, local support from a local Nurse Care-Pair Manager. These Nurse Care-Pair Managers offer assistance in understanding what is available with care in your community as well as helping you navigate any issues you might run into using the Well Beyond Care website.