How can family caregivers go about seeking care for their loved ones? This month for National Family Caregiver Month we have been covering one topic a week related to family caregivers. Whether the family member is setting up respite care, or they are establishing more extensive regular care for their loved one, here are some things they should look for when looking for a caregiver or caregiving agency. These are some questions and concerns to ask themselves in the process of seeking care.
How Flexible is the Care?
One thing you are going to want to keep in mind when seeking care for your loved one is how the agency will be able to adjust to you and the client’s changing needs. Maybe after the holidays you are feeling exhausted and need more care than you will need in March, for example. Your loved one’s care could get more complex as their condition progresses, as well. People can be very happy hiring an individual caregiver, but one reason why people choose to go with an agency is because of that long-term flexibility of being able to add more or different caregivers when needed.
Is the Caregiver a Good Personality Match for the Client?
Once you have decided on an agency or are interviewing individual caregivers, you are going to want to make sure the client and the caregiver have complimentary personalities. Caregiving is very intimate and emotional work, and it is much smoother for everyone involved when the client and caregiver get along. And if they do not get along, that’s not necessarily anyone’s fault. Sometimes we have clients with multiple caregivers at a time and it’s important that they work well together as well.
How Sustainable Will This Be?
It’s important that you not only like the caregivers, but that you have stable care. Of course, no one has a crystal ball, but you are going to want to think about if this system of care (for lack of a better term) will be one to see you and your family through this journey. And have some contingency plans if things go in a way that you don’t expect them to go.
Thank you all so much, and happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Written by Brigid Stakelum
