How to Hire a Caregiver to Help at Home

Nowadays, there are more and more of what they government calls “sandwich families,” where there is an elderly parent being cared for by their grown children. This is a lot of responsibility, one that needs qualified, trust-worthy help. This is a problem that most of the people find hard to solve. When hiring a caregiver for someone you love, you need to keep frank communication flowing between you. Here's how to hire the best help.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Communication is the key to help preventing problems and abuse. Let the person that you are thinking about hiring know that you will have your defense mode on until that person provides you with proof that they are worthy of your trust. This may take time. Let them know that you are a person of action and will be a partner in the care giving.
2. Do not burn out the caregiver. Yes, you hired them to help, but not to do everything. When you see that they need some assistant, ask if they need your help. This will help build that foundation of trust and care which later will help prevent abuse.
3. Know the signs that abuse might be happening. Some of the most common are personality changes in the love one receiving the care, whimpering or crying a lot more than before, bruises, unexplained weight loss, poor hygiene and excessive sleeping. If any of these show up, ask the love one first, then go to the caregiver separately. If there is a conflicting story, then you need to talk together.
4. If your love one can’t communicate, install cameras with a secured taping area. The caregiver would not have access to the taped area. If the camera would be interrupted for some reason, let that caregiver know that if it happens again, they would be let go. Be firm.
5. Make sure that you, too, get some support. Look for a group that supports the children of elderly parents. The Department of Health and Human Services National Family Caregiver Support program that can get you started (see Resources below).