When people look to hire a caregiver, they tend to be shortsighted, looking for someone to satisfy immediate needs. But once you enter the world of caregiving, you need to think long-term, as your perennial will undoubtedly need more help in time. So when you first hire a caregiver, don’t just think about what you need right now.
Begin with the end in mind.
Bess is a good example.
Bess hired June (a retired nurse) to help her around the house. The set-up seemed ideal…June could earn some extra money during retirement and Bess got help from a trained professional and friend, even though she really didn’t need nursing-level care.
Over the next few months, however, things started to change. First, Bess needed more help. This meant more days and time from June, more than June wanted to work.
Second, Bess’s health continued to deteriorate, requiring more physical, hands on care. June was not strong enough to provide this type of care.
Third, June’s own health deteriorated, and she started calling out sick more and more, leaving Bess without care.
All this put Bess and her family in a bind. Bess and June were friends, and Bess did not want to damage the relationship. And June did not wish to quit, as she liked and needed the extra money. But the family was stressed and worried as they recognized that having June as a caregiver was not helping Bess, and might even be harmful. Now what does the family do?
Sadly, I have seen this situation play out numerous times. The family hires a short-term caregiver who cannot provide care when needs increase and thus, must be replaced even though no one wants to do it.
How can you avoid this situation?
Begin with the end in mind.
When your perennial needs help, do not simply look for what is cheap or convenient, often a friend or family member who can help out as needed. This short-term solution can lead to long-term stress and unpleasant decisions later.
Instead, hire a caregiver with the Three Stages of Care in mind.
Stage 1: Companionship, light housework, meal preparation. This type of work can be done by most people. No particular skills or qualifications needed.
Stage 2: Stage 1 plus, personal care needs such as bathing, dressing, and toileting. This type of work often requires extra training, such as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Although such work can be done by untrained individuals, CNAs have had training on proper lifting and transfer techniques which will help protect both your loved one and the caregiver from injury.
Stage 3: Stages 1 and 2, plus attention to medical needs. These needs may be things such as wound care, medication management, IV administration, etc. that require specialized training or operation of special equipment.
Keep in mind that once you hire a caregiver for your perennial, the perennial will likely always need some form of care, usually in greater and greater amounts.
So hire a caregiver with these long-term needs in mind. Doing so will help you provide your perennial with better short and long-term care, while avoiding many of the pitfalls that come with hiring a caregiver for immediate needs.
Before you hire a caregiver consider:
What care is needed now? What care is likely to be needed in the future?
What care can this caregiver provide? What is she NOT able to do?
What happens if there are changes for either the caregiver or care recipient?
Procedures for determining what happens as things change (and things WILL CHANGE) over the course of the caregiving relationship should be considered beforehand and then specified in the employment contract. (And yes, you must have an employment contract!)
Discussing and planning for these changes with your caregiver will help protect your perennial and avoid awkward and hurtful conversations down the road.
