Home Health Care

How does one choose the best home health care caregiver? When you or a loved one needs long term care, keeping it simple is always the way to go. For most people who have limitations in their daily activities, the best type of care is the at-home type. Having a caregiver who comes by on a daily or semi-daily basis to help with the tasks you can no longer perform is an ideal solution. But how do you choose someone you can trust to come into your home?

How Do I Choose a Home Health Care Provider?

Check with the experts in the field of home health care. There are a multitude of companies on the market today which specialize in providing home health care workers to those who need it. Such companies have reputations which can be verified through a simple online search of state governing bodies and consumer protection organizations. Companies who furnish home health care workers are usually very stringent in their recruiting tactics and background checks and carry large liability policies to cover anything that might go wrong.

Ask for recommendations. Talk with your doctor about who he or she would recommend in home health care. This may be your best source of information. Also, talk to friends and neighbors about who they have used or if they know someone who used a home health care worker that they were particularly pleased with. Word of mouth is often the most reliable type of recommendation. Whether the average person praises or condemns another's work, usually they have nothing to gain or lose.

What Qualifications Should I Look for?

If you must choose a long term care giver without the help of a service, here are some things to keep in mind. Check to make sure that all licenses are up-to-date. Be sure that the care giver is qualified to perform the duties that he or she will have to do. In certain places, you must be a Registered Nurse to administer any type of medication. If you cannot do this yourself and need help, then you may have no choice but to go with an RN.

Meet with the caregiver at least twice to familiarize yourself with him or her. Be sure you feel comfortable with the person. Instincts mean a lot. Ask for references and be sure to check them. Ask questions such as why the person left their last job and whether the old employer would consider rehiring them or not. Run a background check. By simply getting some basic information and paying a small fee, usually less than $30, you can run a background check on a person in the state you are in. This may come back with information that will surprise you and aid you in weeding out inappropriate candidates for the job.

Where Do I locate Home Health Care Workers?

A good source of potential home health care workers is local hospitals, clinics and nursing homes. Often nurses and other health care workers are open to working a little on days they are off or even picking up a few extra hours every day. Check with the human resources departments of such places to see if you can place an ad on a bulletin board or if they have some names they could refer to you.

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