Today, many seniors are deciding that aging in place is the best option for their health and happiness. Yet trying to choose a home care agency can be challenging when you’ve never done it before. Fortunately, you can simplify the selection process by using this checklist that covers everything you and your senior loved one need to know about finding the perfect home caregiver.
Assess Your Loved One’s Needs
One of the best things about home care is that it can be customized to fit a senior’s needs. For example, a senior who only needs help with transportation and meal planning might opt for part-time care on a weekly basis, while a senior showing early signs of memory impairment might benefit from a dementia caregiver. As you assess your loved one’s current needs, don’t overlook possible future needs as well, especially if your loved one already has a chronic condition.
Whether you need respite from your caregiving duties or your aging loved one needs more extensive senior care, Reston, VA, Assisting Hands Home Care Reston can meet your family’s care needs. Our dedicated caregivers are available around the clock to provide transportation to doctor’s appointments, ensure seniors take their prescribed medications, and help with a variety of tasks in and outside the home.
Write a Job Description
Using the information you gleaned from your assessment, write out a description of the duties an in-home caregiver will perform. Seeing it on paper will help you define your preferences, and it will give prospective agencies and caregivers more information about the care your loved one needs.
Locate a Caregiver
When you search for a caregiver, you can find one independently or work with an agency. Agencies can streamline your search by having several potential caregivers available, and you can expect background searches to be conducted that will ensure your loved one’s safety.
If you have a senior loved one who needs help maintaining a high quality of life while aging in place, reach out to Assisting Hands Home Care, a leading provider of at-home care families can rely on. All of our caregivers are bonded, licensed, and insured, there are no hidden fees, and we never ask our clients to sign long-term contracts.
Meet with Prospective Caregivers
It can sometimes take meeting more than one caregiver to find one that fits your loved one’s lifestyle and personality. Try to include your loved one in the decision-making process as much as possible. It’s also important to make sure the caregiver you choose has both professional experience and specialized training that allows the individual to provide a high level of care.
Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of home care service. Reston families can rely on Assisting Hands Home Care to provide individualized care plans to meet their elderly loved ones’ unique care needs. Our caregivers help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and we provide mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia. To learn more about our premier in-home care plans, call us at 703-556-8983 today.
