Caregiver burnout is a common condition that is faced by a majority of people who are caring for a sick, disabled or elderly family member. It can manifest in overwhelming stress, anxiety, poor sleep, inability to focus on your job and other responsibilities. This often leads to guilt, and people push themselves harder, take vitamins and trace minerals supplements, even sacrifice sleep to try doing a better job. Stretching yourself thin will not only aggravate your distress, it will also transfer your anxiety, making the entire situation much more exhausting. Hiring a good home health care provider is the best solution. It will relieve your stress, and ensure quality care and emergency help for your loved family member and improve your own mental health. Here are a few things to look into while choosing a home health care provider.
Qualifications
The first and foremost thing you need to ensure is that the caregiver you are hiring is licensed and qualified to do the job. Monitoring, feeding timely medicines, keeping the patient clean or changing are only some of the visible parts of the job, but what people can not see is the expertise that comes with their training. A qualified home healthcare provider is trained to not only take care of the needs of the patient, but also equipped and prepared to handle any emergency that arises until medical help arrives. A majority of home care programs include essential first aid and medical training to keep the patient stable, which is a crucial skill to look for.
Specialization And Experience
Every patient has their specific needs. While some require a bit of assistance and monitoring, some are heavily dependent on their caregivers for even the most basic needs. Care providers are specialized in providing care for different kinds of cases, such as elderly patients, people with disabilities, non-verbal neurodivergent individuals, persons with minimal mobility, non-cooperative or violent individuals, terminal patients, children, infants etc. They are equipped to handle specific issues or emergencies that come with their niche job. Inquire about their field of specialization, and experience of working with similar cases to help ensure your loved one proper care.
Background Check
Inviting a stranger into your home to take care of your loved ones is an immense test of trust, more so if they live alone or spend larger part of the day with no one else at home. Therefore, it is crucial that you do a thorough background check of the person before you employ them. A verification of their license, work history record, address and reference checks, as well as any past criminal or negligence records are some of the common things to look into. The safest bet is to hire a home care provider through a reliable agency or service, which does a complete background check of every employee before they are on-board.
Reviews and recommendations
A reliable way to know about your home healthcare provider’s work ethics, sincerity and quality of service is via reviews from their previous clients. Most well reviewed healthcare workers and agencies would be happy to point you towards the reviews they have received. You should, however, do a little bit of research yourself as well. Check your local health forums and community support groups to connect with their previous clients, who can share their own experience, and guide you the best. Social media is also an excellent platform to find recommendations and reviews on your shortlisted candidates for home healthcare provider.
Comfort Level
At the end of the day, it is your loved one, who will be spending a larger part of their day with the home health care provider you hire, so their ease and comfort with the person should be high on your priority list. If possible, try to involve the person needing care in the process of hiring their own caregiver. This helps establish a basic sense of familiarity beforehand, and also helps you gauge the basic comfort level of both parties with each other. Moreover, it makes your family member feel more confident when they have a hand in the process of hiring, and also, it offers the caregiver a chance to get to know the patient. Once both parties have established an easy relation, it will be easier for you, knowing your loved one is in good hands.
Terms of service
Go over the terms of service before finalizing the hiring. Make sure you explain in absolute clear terms what exactly the job entails and how you expect the caregiver to go about it. It is vital that you do not hide any medical conditions, specific needs or behavioral issues that the patient has. In order to provide a good service, the caregiver needs to be aware of the actual situation, and thus, prepare accordingly. On the other hand, be extremely thorough in knowing every little detail of the service that you will be provided, so as to come to an agreeable set of terms and conditions, which benefit both parties.
Alternative Arrangements
A very important factor that most people forget is the options of alternative arrangements in case the home healthcare professional needs a break, is unwell or cannot make it to work. Unplanned situations happen, and hence, it is a good idea to plan ahead and be prepared about it. Ask your caregiver if they can offer you any alternative arrangements for times when they are unable to provide service. Check with the caregiver or agency, if the said arrangement will be included in package, or against extra payment.
Finding a home health care provider is a terrifying task as you will always worry that no one will ever be as good as you. It is important to understand that a professional is trained and equipped to offer care and handle any emergencies. You need let go of your fear, and do your research to find the most suitable caregiver for your need