InfoBonanza

The task of finding a home health aide to care for either yourself or a loved one can seem like an overwhelming task. Not only is it important to find someone with the right qualifications and skills for the job, it’s crucial that you find someone that the whole family trusts and feels comfortable with. If you are thinking about hiring a home health aide but are unsure about where to start, here are some tips and suggestions to help guide you along.

Consider Your Needs

Before you can begin searching for a home health aide that will best meet your needs or the needs of your loved one, you should determine what exactly those are. Medical care, personal care needs, meal preparation, and household maintenance are some of the things you need to think about– and if those needs aren’t currently being met, jot them down so that you’ll remember what to inquire about when looking for a caregiver that might potentially be coming into your home. You also should think about what hours you could most use help. Keep a tentative schedule handy–when you’re shopping around for a home health aide, both agencies and independent care givers will want to know what kind of schedule you have in mind.

Determine What You Can Afford

If you don’t have long-term care insurance or your Medicare doesn’t cover home health care, you or your family member will most likely be responsible for covering all costs associated with a caregiver coming into your home. If you don’t have coverage, calculate what you can afford and then go from there. Once you know what your budget can handle, you can start calling different agencies or independent caregivers to compare prices and determine what you will be able to pay for. Typically agencies are more expensive than independent caregivers. Take into consideration the fact that hiring someone independently means you’ll be acting as an employer–and this type of arrangement comes with some entirely new responsibilities when you get down to business.

Schedule Consultations

If you’re leaning towards working with an agency, ask around to find out which ones have the best reputations and schedule consultations with them. Make appointments with several different ones so that you can compare prices, availability, and the level of care that each one offers.

Conduct Interviews

You don’t want to hire the first person that comes along– with that in mind, set up several interviews with a variety of candidates. By meeting with several different caregivers, you’ll get a better idea of what–or who–you’re looking for. Things to keep an eye out for are qualifications, training, skills, background, personality, and interests. Potential candidates should be individuals whose personalities are compatible with your own or that of your loved one who needs the care.

Verify References and Do Background Checks

Always call references and do background checks on the caregivers that you are interested in hiring. When you ask a candidate for references, be sure to get both personal and professional ones– and check each one out, even if the person seems honest and trustworthy. If you are thinking about hiring someone from an agency, chances are the agency has already done a background check on the individuals that work for them.  Ask for complete background information– and if you aren’t satisfied that a comprehensive background check has been done, conduct an investigation of your own.

Stick with Trained Professionals

Never hire someone that doesn’t have the proper training and qualifications required to be a home health aide. If you are working with an agency, make sure they are adequately licensed and insured so that you can rest easy knowing you’re in good hands.

Ultimately, the person in your family (whether it’s you or someone else) that needs help should be comfortable with the home health aide that you hire. Finding a home health aide that can provide quality care and is easy to get along with will make everyone in the family feel more at ease, so take your time when choosing the best candidate. A thoughtful decision will result in money well-spent.

Guest post from Sandy Morgan. Sandy writes for NursingHomes.org.