Senior Caregiver Job Description
If you are a caregiver, you provide assistance to another person, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance---a nonprofit dedicated to the needs of those family members, friends or professionals who provide long-term care. As a "senior" caregiver, you provide such assistance to older individuals. The FCA reports these caregivers may be paid professionals, such as home health aides and personal care aides, or informal caregivers---unpaid family members or friends who help their loved ones. The duties a caregiver provides vary substantially based on each senior's needs.
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Home Health Aide
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If you are a home health aide, chances are you work for a certified agency or hospice that receives monies from the government, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As such, you must keep diligent records of any duties performed in the home to comply with federal rules, and you work closely with medical supervisors. Duties performed in the home include basic health care---such as taking the client's temperature or checking his pulse rate. You may also help with exercise, tracking and dispersing meds and skin care, if needed. According to the BLS, if you work in this role you'll need training, possibly as a Certified Nursing Assistant, though the level and type of training varies by state.
Personal Aide
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If you are a personal (or home care) aide, you work for any number of private or public organizations, according to the BLS. As these organizations don't hinge on government funding, you will work independently in the home, with only infrequent visits from medical staff---such as licensed nurses or social workers. Advanced degrees and training are not required. Typically, according to Caregiverlist, a company formed in 1995 to support caregivers and their clients through education and networking, you'll have a plan to follow for each client that you work with. The plan is defined by family members or other loved ones, and outlines duties to fulfill specific needs on a case-by-case basis.
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Primary
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If you are a primary caregiver for a client, you'll dedicate most if not all of your time to that person. In some cases, if 24-hour care is needed, you'll work in shifts with another colleague, according to FCA. If your client needs primary care, she may be limited to bedrest or have serious dementia. In these cases, according to Caregiverlist, you'll need CNA training to handle everything from bathing, dressing and grooming your client to preparing meals, laundering and housekeeping.
Companionship
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If you are a primary caregiver, psychological needs as well as medical needs must be met. According to the BLS, you'll keep the client's mental and emotional health in check by accompanying him to church or other events, going on walks if possible, and playing games that keep the mind active. If you are not a primary caregiver, your client may be in the position where he only needs care for a few hours during the day. In this case, you may serve as an aide for very specific duties, or primarily duties related to companionship. You may make meals or do the laundry, or just take your client to doctor's and beauty appointments.
Variation
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It's estimated that 34 million Americans or 16 percent of the population care for seniors, deemed as 50 or older, according to the FCA. Of these caregivers, 20 percent provide care to seniors with dementia. Upwards of nearly six million caregivers help seniors on a daily basis. Some of the most difficult tasks, according to the FCA, include bathing, helping with incontinence or toilet issues and dressing. Nearly one in five caregivers work with seniors whose needs are so great as to require upwards of 40 care hours of care per week. Those with the most severe dementia require more than 46 hours of care weekly, as compared to those seniors who don't have dementia and require on average 4.6 hours of care a week.
Earnings
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If you are an informal caregiver---family member, neighbor or friend---you don't get paid. But the FCA estimates that, if the nation were to pay all these informal caregivers for their service, it would cost nearly $260 billion. For those professional caregivers who do get paid, if you are a home health aide you make slightly more than a personal or home care aide, as the former make a median hourly wage of $9.84, while the latter earn a median hourly wage of $9.22, according to BLS statistics from May 2008. Wages vary slightly depending on where you work (with those employed by nursing centers earning more than those employed by home care agencies, for example), and your level of experience, the BLS reports.
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References
- Photo Credit senior image by Joann Cooper from Fotolia.com
