When a disabled loved one needs specialised home health care, it may seem a little bit overwhelming. The good news is that both you and your loved one can have a great experience with home health care -- as long as you're prepared properly. Here are two questions to ask yourself before you hire disability care for your disabled loved one.
What Level of Care is Needed?
There are many different types and levels of disability, so it's important to first identify exactly what level of care is needed for your loved one's disability. The type of home health care worker that you hire may depend in part upon what level of care is required.
Does your loved one need help with all personal care or only some things? Some home health care companies divide their services into categories based upon how much help is needed. If your loved one needs help with bathing, dressing, eating, using the bathroom and nearly all aspects of personal care, the home health care provider may charge more than they would if your loved one just needs help with cooking and tidying up the home.
Additionally, most home health care companies have medical professionals available for the patients that require them. A medical professional -- usually a nurse -- can perform medical duties of all types including injections, blood pressure checks, medication monitoring and much more.
Top Tip: Make a list of everything that you'd like your home health care worker to provide. List everything you can think of needing, now and in the future. This can even include taking your disabled loved one to the doctor, shopping with your loved one, picking up the newspaper and nearly anything else you can think of. By making this comprehensive list, your home health care agency can determine your required care level and can give you the right price quote.
What Type of Care Schedule Do You Need?
Most home health care agencies can create any care schedule you need, but there may be some exceptions to this rule. It's common for caregiver rates to be higher on weekends and holidays, so be sure to ask your potential disability caregivers about variable rates. Whilst you might not have a set schedule, you can find a home health care agency that is willing to be flexible if needed. Ask how much notice that your caregiver will need when you need to make schedule changes.
Top Tip: Whether your schedule is chaotic and constantly changing or tends to be the same every week, it's important to write it down to give the caregivers an idea of what to expect. Write out a sample schedule that covers the last month, and bring this along whilst meeting potential caregivers.
Ready to hire a caregiver who's there when you and your disabled loved one need them? Contact local home health care agencies to discuss the things above!
If you have recently had surgery, you are likely to be starting out on the road to recovery. That road can be very long. I know, because last year I had surgery on my brain to remove a tumour. Once the surgery was over, I spent a few days in the hospital before being discharged and sent home. I was lucky enough to have home health care coverage on my insurance, which means that I got daily visits from the nurse. Without this help, I don't know what I would have done. Now I am back to full-health, I decided to start this blog.