Home Care Providers – When To Ask For Help

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It’s a fact that by the time you actually feel thirsty, your hydration is already depleted. Picture the same thing happening with stress. By the time a caregiver is feeling stress, the stress has already taken its toll.

Caregivers are GIVERS; that’s what makes caregivers do what they do. This is a problem when it comes time for a caregiver to ask for help. Caregivers often use up all their inner resources long before asking for assistance. Here is how you as a caregiver may be able to tell when it is time to ask for help.

Recognizing caregiver burnout

Most of us have experienced some sort of job burnout at some point in our lives. It requires time to step back from the situation and look at it from another perspective. Or, if left unexamined, it may require intervention to get out of that downward spiral.

Caregiving is no different. If you are the primary home care provider for someone in your family, it means that you are in contact day-in and day-out with that person. Sometimes that includes difficulties and frustrations. If you also have responsibilities outside of caregiving, the stress is multiplied. Here are a few signs that you may need extra help:

  • Feelings of depression
  • Feelings of resentment towards your loved one
  • Lack of empathy or patience with your loved one
  • Lack of sleep
  • Too much sleep
  • Fatigue
  • Frequent illness
  • Problems on your job
  • Gaining or losing weight

These are just a few of the symptoms of caregiver burnout. As a home care provider, asking for help will actually improve the care for your loved one. It will give you a chance to get refreshed, and give others an opportunity to help for a period of time.

Ways that you can get help

Begin by asking other family members to help. Check out adult day care centers, part-time home care, county nursing services, short-term nursing care, adult social services programs, aging commission services, as well as senior drop-in centers and other community-based activities.

Any break you can get on a regular basis will help your stress level drop, as well as provide a needed break for your loved one, too.

Planning for burnout is the first step to preventing it. Don’t wait until the symptoms become overwhelming. Devise a regularly scheduled stress-reducer for yourself as well as your loved one. Routinely take advantage of outside help. Don’t wait for someone to notice that you are stressed out before you get help. Be proactive, ask for help, and avoid getting burned out.

Christian Home Care understands the need for proper balance while assisting your family as an in home care provider. We’re here to help, as frequently as you need us.

Tips For Hiring In Home Caregivers

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Life changes our responsibilities, and as our parents or grandparents age, we are faced with decisions about their ongoing care, making sure they are safe, active, and healthy. It is not always possible to care for a loved one yourself. You may have circumstances that require you to seek outside professional help for the task, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help and be a part of a positive solution. Hiring someone to be there for your loved one as you would is the next best thing.

Before you embark on the mission of finding a qualified in home caregiver, here are a few tips to help make the process as seamless as possible:

Decide how you will handle the hiring

There are a lot of in home caregivers available, and it may seem overwhelming trying to decide which one is right for your loved one. Consider using a home care provider agency that will do the research for you and provide caregivers for short-term or long-term care. Get in touch with one of these agencies and ask about their processes.

Paying for the in home caregiver

An agency will tell you all about their payment policies. If your loved one has insurance, they will file it along with Medicaid and Medicare. Additional charges not covered by these plans will come out of the loved one’s estate or from the family members. Understand how this works in your part of the country, and consult with your county’s Commission on Aging, adult social services, or similar office, and perhaps your attorney.

You are in an employer-employee relationship

When you hire a caregiver on your own, you have become an employer. Depending on the salary, this entitles the employee to certain benefits. As an independent contractor, your hired caregiver would typically file his or her own taxes, claiming income from you. This means you will need information from them as any employer would. This would generally include a form W9 with all the pertinent information included, such as social security number, full name, and current address. Learn the laws concerning all of this before embarking on the independent route.

Of course, all this is easier when you use a home care assistance agency. The agency takes care of the hiring, payment, and benefits.

Decide on your criteria for an in home caregiver

You, of course, want someone who will treat your loved one with respect, but also someone who has the experience necessary to be effective. Special situations associated with aging may require specialized knowledge, such as dealing with dementia. Make a list of those things you desire in a caregiver, to help coordinate the best care for your loved one, and to help the agency find the best in home caregiver to service your needs.

In home caregivers are faced with a difficult task, and that task requires just the right person. When you can’t be there for your family member, the person you hire should exhibit trustworthy qualities, a loving nature, and great fortitude.

Christian Home Care has been providing in home caregivers throughout Northwest Ohio for hundreds of families. Our name says it all – Christian Home Care that you can trust.

Caring for the Elderly Who Still Drive

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Driving seems to be one of the last strongholds of freedom when we get older. Remember how you were so excited when you first got your license and that taste of independence? You will be reluctant to give it up under any circumstances. That is what makes it so hard when your aging parent needs to hang up their car keys, and you have to be the one to tell them to do so.

We have heard complaints about older people on the road. They drive too slowly or they drive big cars that they can barely see over the steering wheel. We fear they may have an accident because they can’t see us, or their reactions are slow.

There may come a time when you have to address the fact that your parent is getting too old or too ill to drive their car. What do you do? Here are a few tips to help you recognize the situation and approach the subject:

Determine if your parent is not driving well

The best way to do this is to go for a ride in their car with them. This is not driver’s education; you are not teaching them how to drive better. Instead, you are looking for signs of diminished skills and reflexes, like missing stop signs, or not following traffic signals. If they seem nervous or jittery while driving, this may be a sign of a problem.

Have your parent’s eyes checked regularly

Some older people have vision problems but don’t want to admit it, and they try to avoid seeing the eye doctor. Schedule an appointment for your elder parent. Reassure your parent that they may not need anything more than a new pair of glasses. Seeing the eye doctor does not automatically mean they will lose their license to drive. It may just clear up a vision problem and they’ll be back on the road before they know it.

Have a conversation with your parent

Ask your parent about driving and if they feel that they can still manage. You may get a suspicious look or an argumentative tone, but don’t join in. Remember that you are talking about their independence. Think how you would feel if someone tried to take away your license. Don’t treat your parents like children; just find out how they feel about driving. You might be surprised to find out they have been waiting for someone to ask.

Talk to your parent’s doctor

Your parent’s doctor won’t likely discuss your parent’s medical chart with you, that is confidential. However, the family doctor might discuss the topic of driving with your parent during their next appointment. Your parent may not want to hear it from you, but they will listen to their trusted family physician. If your parent is denying they have vision problems or judgment issues and continue to drive, it may result in an accident. For this reason, a visit with the family physician voicing your concerns would be expected. Your parent’s doctor may have to be the one to tell Mom or Dad that their driving needs to be limited or eliminated altogether.

It is not easy losing independence at any age. When safety issues are at stake, you may have to deal with the fact that your parents are no longer able to drive by themselves. Enlist all the help and support you can get if and when this decision needs to be made.

Whenever you need extra help caring for the elderly members of your family, remember that Christian Home Care offers customized senior care services to fit your needs.

Your Guide to Finding the Best Home Care Solutions

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Caring for the elderly can be quite daunting, especially when you are trying to hold down a job and raise a family at the same time. Elder members of the family deserve all the love and respect, which is why they should be provided with the very best care available.

If you need assistance with taking care of your loved one, home care solutions would make a great choice of providing professional elderly care services that you can count on.

Benefits of Home Care Solutions

One of the main advantages to opting for this type of service is that you do not have to put your family member into a retirement home or assisted living facility. You can still be with them and provide great care through the professional efforts of caregivers.

These professionals are trained to care for the elderly in almost all aspects of their life, i.e. eating, bathing, and other activities. The home care specialists understand how the elderly try to cope with life changes, and can adjust daily functions to make life easier for them.

What to Look for in Home Care Solutions

Reputability – This is no ordinary service, you want the most compassionate and reputable agency, since it involves the life of a family member you care for very much. In order to protect your loved one and make sure they are indeed in good hands, you should screen various home care service providers very thoroughly.

Research if others have used their services, and if there are consumer testimonials that offer insightful comments about the care or the caregivers. Analyze the background of the company, their longevity, and their reputation within the community.

Scope of Services Provided – The whole point of hiring professionals to care for your elderly family member is so that you do not have to worry about anything. Before choosing a home care company, make sure that they cover a wide range of tasks that are necessary when caring for elderly people. This is especially important if your loved one is paralyzed or otherwise unable to move around well on their own, as they will need a lot of assistance all the time.

Day Care and Night Care – Some home care companies do not offer certain services as such nighttime care. If you need round the clock assistance with your loved one, you should pick a company that provides such arrangements.

Needless to say, there are many types of home care solutions for the elderly, and each service should be evaluated for your own unique circumstance. Sometimes, having help with the daily life activities makes it possible for family members to again visit and relax together with their elderly loved one.

Whatever your home care needs are, consider Christian Home Care as your trusted, compassionate solution. We’re here to help.