Private Home Care for the Elderly

Arranging private home care for an elderly person is a step by step process with a number of choices available to you. From light companion duties to a full-time nurse, private home care can be arranged to suit your needs. Prior to hiring someone to perform home care services you should familiarize yourself with this industry.

Assessment

Prior to engaging home health care services, an assessment on the individual is needed. A useful assessment tool to use is the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) list. This includes walking, dressing, bathing, toileting, continence and eating. How many ADLs can be performed? It is important to assess how much assistance is needed for each of these tasks so you can determine the necessary level of care. You may want to add additional activities to this list for a more complete picture, such as driving, cooking, and managing medications.

Once you determine how much assistance is needed, you can determine how many hours of daily care should be provided. If you choose to hire an agency there may be a minimum-hour requirement, perhaps six hours of care per day. If you choose to hire an individual, you might have more flexibility in arranging a schedule.

Types of Home Care

There are several options available for private home care for the elderly. For people who need simple assistance with grooming, light housekeeping and shopping, consider hiring a companion or home health aide. Companions or home health aides generally have some training or experience with elderly but are not licensed or certified.

For a higher level of care consider hiring an LPN (licensed practical nurse) or RN (registered nurse). Both are state licensed and have more training.

Companions, home health aides, LPNs and RNs can be hired either through an agency or individually.

Home Health Care Agency

One of the main advantages of working with a home health care agency is that they have a number of people on staff. If, for example, your home health aide is unable to perform her duties, the agency can send a replacement. Another advantage is that the agency performs all background checks and often provides some in-house training.

Prior to sending an employee to the home an RN from the agency will perform an assessment on the individual. They can then discuss care options that will work best for you.

Home Health Care Individual

Sometimes it can be preferable to hire an individual instead of using an agency. Often a home health aide working on her own will be less expensive for you and may have greater flexibility in scheduling. With the permission of the person you are hiring, you can perform your own background check. Always be certain to ask for at least three references.

Cautions

Remove valuable items, especially those that are small and can be easily taken. If possible, keep track of any cash that may be in the house.
Try to maintain good communication with the health care worker. It is important to establish a working relationship so that you are not surprised by later information, such as declining health.
Be certain that all background checks are performed prior to allowing a health care worker into the home.
Certain states consider live-in workers to have the same rights as tenants. Prior to allowing someone to live in the home check state laws regarding tenancy. If you are dissatisfied with a worker you may be unable to force them to leave immediately if they live in the home.

Payment

Check with your insurance company to see if home health care is covered in the policy. If an elderly person has a long-term health care policy, chances are better that there will be coverage. On average, home health care can cost from $10 to $25 per hour, depending on time of day and level of skill.

References

• Checklist of Activities of Daily Living

Resources

• Long Term Care Health Insurance