Finding the Right Caregiver for Seniors Requires Research

October 23, 2005

Writer Amalia Deligiannis reports the life span for Americans is now, on average, 80 years, and this increase has created a need for in-home caregivers. Families often are confused about how to best find a reliable caregiver. Deligiannis outlines the factors to consider. Here is an excerpt:

"Families can avoid much of the angst related to hiring a caregiver by considering a number of factors. First and foremost, people need to determine what type of care is needed -- whether it's intermittent, daily or 24-hour care. Then families should write out what types of services they would like the caregiver to provide. Some seniors just need basic companion care such as meal preparation, light housekeeping, grocery shopping and help managing doctor appointments. If more than companion care is needed, families should hire someone with medical training as well.

Families should also make sure there will be no language barriers between the caregiver and the senior and that the caregiver, senior and family are all compatible.

Accredited agencies will help families find caregivers that can meet their needs. They also perform a lot of the dirty work associated with hiring a caregiver. For example, agencies will check their caregivers' backgrounds and personal references, ensure there will be no language barriers and have supervisors to make sure that caregivers do their job and that seniors and their families are happy. Agencies also make sure their caregivers have workers' compensation insurance.

"A lot of our family members live outside Chicago ," said Julie Northcutt, president and founder of Chicagoland Caregivers Corp., a service agency that manages caregivers and provides caregiver services. "Service agencies can take care of the case management issues as well as the hands-on care. We meet clients, do client assessments by meeting with the client and the family, assess the house to make sure it's safe and then put together a health plan."

For more information on Chicagoland Caregivers', now LivHOME's, senior home care services, please call 312-633-9955 or email: info@livhome.com