Highlights for how to find a live in caregiver for elderly:
- Understand the difference between a live-in caregiver and a 24-hour care facility.
- Learn about the many duties of a live-in caregiver.
- Know where to look for the best live-in caregiver.
- All about vetting for a live-in caregiver.
Are you considering a caregiver for an elderly parent or family member? If so, then you may have been wondering how to find a live in caregiver for elderly at some point in time or if not, you may be asking for in-home caregiver recommendations from your friends.
Let us help you get the best caregiver help for your elderly parents or grandparents through various referral options online. And an important note, you can’t just rely on any recommended live-in caregiver; you need to personally check for credentials, conduct a thorough interview, and get referrals. It’s a tough process, but the health and safety of your loved one are at stake. So let’s start by understanding what live-in care really means.
Live-in care defined
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Live-in care or a live-in caregiver is a setup wherein the caregiver assists the client in his or her own home. The live-in caregiver comes over the client’s home and provides basic care, and, depending on the arrangement, he may also sleep in residence to assist the client even in the evenings.
Small chores like preparing a midnight snack, providing bedtime medications, or assisting the client to go to the toilet are some common tasks. From clock with day and date for elderly also help them to continue these activities. With the alarm function, the caregiver can create their schedules for days.
A client may have one, two, or more live-in caregivers that provide care. They may take turns in shifts with shifts that can take hours or days. Live-in care is a setup favored by families who have care facility equipment at home. The basic equipment that is needed by elderly patients includes a adjustable beds for seniors, a bedside commode, wheelchair and other mobility equipment, monitoring equipment, and so on.
What are the benefits of having live-in care?
Live-in care takes care of the elderly in their own homes where they are more comfortable. They are better off recovering from illness and are more receptive to care if they are in their own homes. Also, clients have family nearby and won’t feel isolated and depressed as what is common in a nursing home or in a 24-hour care facility.
A live-in caregiver is more affordable than sending an elderly patient to a 24-hour care facility. Also, family members will prefer talking to a special caregiver regarding the condition of their loved one rather than asking for details from nurses or aides that only see their elderly family members per shift.
What’s the difference between live-in and 24-hour care?
The main difference is that in a live-in arrangement, the caregiver visits or stays in the client’s home. In a 24-hour care facility, caregivers, nurses, and other staff take turns in shifts to care for a number of patients. There are also some downsides to being cared for at home.
In a 24-hour care center, doctors and other medical professionals are ready to assist clients for any medical condition, whereas, in any medical emergency, the live-in caregiver will have to take the client to the doctor or hospital. Immediate care is not possible.
What are the duties of a live-in caregiver?
A live-in caregiver can help clients with the following elderly-care duties:
- Monitoring their blood pressure or blood sugar levels before taking medications.
- Assisting the elderly in eating and taking their medications.
- Assisting during ambulation and other basic tasks like bathing, brushing their teeth, denture care, and so on.
- Assisting the elderly in daily activities like exercising, communicating with their family members or leisure activities.
- Taking their clients to doctor’s clinics for follow-ups, for emergency conditions, and for physical therapy.
- Updating family members and doctors regarding the health, development, and mental state of their patients.
What are the costs of hiring live-in care?
Each state has rules regarding the regulations and the cost of live-in care. Take note that when you hire a live-in caregiver in a private manner, most legal regulations are overlooked. Usually, these regulations are followed closely by home care agencies and caregiver referral companies or agencies.
Just some examples, in California, caregivers who spend overnights in their client’s homes are also paid as they sleep. In Texas, private caregivers that work for five consecutive days should be paid a daily flat rate. It’s best to hire at least three caregivers to care for an elderly family member to avoid overtime payments, which can reduce costs. But with more people, you need to manage schedules and may add confusion for elderly patients suffering from dementia.
Where to look for a caregiver?
Privately hiring a caregiver
One of the most common ways to find a caregiver is by hiring privately when you thinking about how to find a live in caregiver for elderly. Check out classified ads or online ads for caregivers in your area. You can also find one through social media or from personal recommendations. For this, you must allow time for a thorough interview, screening, and document submission.
Yes, a private caregiver is cheaper because you can still negotiate and pay only $100 up to $125 a day, but there are some hassles to doing it. You need to consider taxes, payroll, auto insurance, worker’s compensation, and thorough vetting of a live-in caregiver. And you need to do everything over and over again in case you need to hire, re-hire or find other help.
So, if you don’t have time to do all these, then you might consider hiring an in-home caregiver through a Home Care or caregiver Referral Agency.
Look for help through Home Care and Referral Agencies
For families who can’t handle all the responsibilities of hiring a caregiver privately, it’s best to look for help through home care and referral agencies.
These companies continuously hire new workers. By the time you require one, you can guarantee that the agency has a caregiver that will be best suited for your elderly’s needs. Agencies are in charge of thoroughly vetting caregiver candidates, and this includes getting references, background checks, and criminal checks.
Agencies will do the scheduling for you in case you require two or more caregivers for your elderly family member. Payroll is done by the agency as well, and this includes the caregiver’s wages, taxes, and their different benefits. However, the cost of hiring through an agency is double or triple the cost of hiring privately.
Get help from Referral Agencies
Referral agencies like Kindlycare.com are another way to find a suitable live-in caregiver. Through a referral agency, you can be sure that the caregiver you hire will be well-trained, carefully screened, and are legal to work in the country. From the referrals and guidance of these agencies, live-in caregivers can get basic help like payroll, auto insurance, worker’s compensation, and info about local rules and regulations.
You won’t be left on your own to find a caregiver, but most of the backend work is done for you. Live-in caregivers hired using a referral agency can cost around $250 to $350 daily. This rate may also vary from state to state.
Vetting a caregiver
Whether you’re hiring a live-in caregiver privately or through home care or referral agency, you should be proactive in vetting a caregiver. Doing so will better protect your loved one and his or her property. Here are some things to consider when vetting a caregiver.
- Get a background check
A federal and country criminal check is important. If you’re working with home care or a referral agency, ask for “Live Scanned” individuals. This means that the caregiver has been checked against all reported arrests, possible court cases, and other dispositions. Sentences and probations. This will also show possible civil matters, mental health conditions, and restraining orders. Thorough checks will guarantee the safety and success of your recruitment.
- Driver’s license
A driver’s license will help you check against any moving violations, DUI arrests, and other driving suspensions.
- Auto Insurance
A caregiver with a car should have car insurance. Make sure that this is updated and as they may need to drive to doctor’s clinics, pharmacies, and groceries for various errands.
- Worker’s Compensation Insurance
Worker’s compensation insurance is a type of insurance that will cover the caregiver while on the job. Some states may consider Worker’s Compensation as part Homeowner policies, but usually, these will only cover workers that are in their residence for less than 10 hours a week. If you have Worker’s Compensation Insurance as a part of your homeowner’s insurance, consider contacting your carrier to add a rider or a worker.
- Non-Owned Auto Insurance
If your live-in caregiver does not drive his own car and may need to drive your vehicle, consider calling your insurer to add to your auto insurance policy.
- Liability Insurance
Liability insurance is a type of insurance that will protect your elderly loved one in case of negligence. It will also protect your property in case something is damaged. If your family member has been injured due to the neglect of the live-in caregiver, then liability insurance will take care of medical fees and other damages.
Create a Senior’s Care Plan
Caregivers for seniors should be supervised to prevent any misunderstandings. A senior’s plan of care is necessary and should be flexible, depending on the needs of an elderly patient. A plan should be written to avoid mistakes and to express your expectations.
If you acquired the help of a live-in caregiver from an agency, the agency manager could help you devise a plan. This plan is in accordance with the policies of the agency as well.
The senior’s plan must include the history of the client, including his profession, age, spouse, children, and immediate family, his hobbies, likes, dislikes, and religion. It also includes his medical conditions and special needs. For instance, from the blood pressure monitoring system for elderly in the home, he may need insulin, and his blood sugar monitored daily before his dose.
The plan also includes any personal appliances like hearing aids, prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses, dentures, mobility aids, and prosthetics.
The plan should also include the client’s medications, nutritional requirements, and any special personal assistance like bathing, grooming, or incontinence.
Since the live-in caregiver will also assist the client in performing chores, the plan must also include home safety information like keycodes, passcodes and locks, home schedules like housekeeping, trash pick-up and gardening services, housekeeping schedules and allowed activities for the week or month.
If you leave money to pay for groceries, medicines, and other errands, the senior’s plan should include ways on how to handle and document finances.
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A few tips on how to find a live in caregiver for elderly
- You may also hire a capable adult family member to become a caregiver. Under some states, family members as caregivers may be paid for their services. Also, your elderly relative may be more at ease when being cared for by a family member.
- Avoid hiring teenagers and very young people because they are inexperienced and may not provide the best care for your elderly family member.
- Hire a live-in caregiver who lives nearby. This will avoid tardiness, and you can always call on him or her for help in case the next shift caregiver is unavailable.
- Prefer a live-in caregiver who is accredited to a nursing home, or a specialty care facility. This will help you get help for your family member in case he needs to be admitted to these facilities.
- Don’t delay hiring a live-in caregiver. The moment you find out your elderly family member needs special medical attention and care, talk to an agency, or look for private caregivers ASAP.
Final Thoughts
If you thinking that how to find a live in caregiver for elderly, finding a live-in caregiver should never be overlooked. You should consider all the aspects of care that your loved one needs (medical care, personal care, nutritional care, ambulation, and housekeeping care. Hire only a competent, professional, and well-skilled caregiver.
As much as possible, hire from an agency or a referral company to reduce worries about payroll, worker’s compensation, tax filing, insurance, and more. Consult your insurance company when hiring a new work as a live-in worker, including auto insurance. Be smart, be prepared so you can help your loved one better.