18 Oct Tips on Hiring the Best Philadelphia At-Home Caregivers
Family caregivers provide support for 40 million Americans who live with a disability. We offer guidance on finding the right caregiver for your loved one.
Whether it be a disability, a result of aging, or decline in mental capacity, millions of families must face a harsh reality. Their parents or loved ones need help at home.
Where does one begin to look for support?
People tend to search online and look for feedback and reviews that current or former clients or loved ones have left. The number of home care companies can be staggering. Start your search with common terms like home care, home health aide, or caregivers in your area. You can also search for a variety of more specific terms based on the needs of your loved ones. Examples include senior home care, dementia care, or spanish-speaking caregivers.
Most reputable home care agencies will interview the individual or family to better understand the needs of the client. This is also the chance to properly match caregivers based on personality and style, etc. Don’t be afraid to be upfront with the company or agency about what type of caregiver you would like to match your loved one with.
Shop around
Take advantage of these interviews with the agencies to get a good feel for them and their company’s mission and values. If you have a good feeling after interviewing the company or its caregivers, that’s great. However, don’t be afraid to consider or speak with several companies until you find the right fit for your loved one.
Be sure to ask about health care training, driving, and ability to lift when in your search. At a minimum, caregivers should be patient, compassionate, trustworthy, and dependable.
Understand what you are signing up for
When reviewing a home care contract, be specific in regards to hours, wages, job descriptions, and standards of behavior. Ultimately, the best measure of success is the ability of the company to properly match a quality and supportive caregiver to the individual in need.
Finding the right fit
Even the best home care providers won’t always be able to match the perfect caregiver or home health aide on the first try. If you don’t think there is a match between you and your caregiver, make sure you’ve given it some time (a few weeks). It takes time for both parties to get comfortable with each other. However, be sure to inquire about requesting a new caregiver if it just isn’t working out. Caregiver matching can be more art than science so any quality care provider will gladly oblige.
Caregiving from the family
Pennsylvania allows care recipients to hire and pay family members as their home health aides. This through the Community HealthChoices Medicaid Waiver program. Waiver programs are popular for understandable reasons. Family members, including those that had to quit or cut back on work to provide care to a loved one, are now being paid some money for all the care they provide. Read our guide about the Medicaid Waiver program for home care.
Chosen Family Home Care has a dedicated team of caregivers in place. We assist the Philadelphia-area elder and disabled community meet their at-home care needs. We provide a variety of care services to meet the diverse needs of our population and have a proven caregiver matching and training program.
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