Aging
How to Find a Great Carer for Your Aging Parents or GrandParents
Guest Blogger: Andy C.
Not everyone is fortunate enough to remain independent into their later years. As people age, their needs change and they require someone to take care of them. Though family members remain primary caregivers for the elderly, it may at some point be necessary to have a professional carer for the elderly in your family. Here are some tips to help you select the right person or agency to care for your parents or grandparents.
1. Education and Training: The best caregivers for elderly are those that have a background in nursing, social work, or gerontology. The skills imbibed from these educational programs can help the carer manage the elderly in your home much better.
2. Chemistry: It is important to make your ageing parents or grandparents a part of the selection process. This helps them get to know the person who will care for them better. When they are a part of the selection process, you can be sure to hire someone they are comfortable with. This is extremely important because it is they who will spend the most time with this care giver.
3. Special Skills: If your elderly parents or grandparents have any special health needs or concerns, it would be best to find someone who has experience or is familiar with these special requirements. This will help your elderly family members to be more comfortable and the transition to a new caregiver would be smoother.
4. Talk to Your Doctor: The network of carers is very small as this is a highly specialized area of work. Therefore, your family doctor is bound to know of someone who has employed a carer at some point in their life. Talking to your family doctor can help you identify someone who is familiar and reliable. Of course, you can interview them before you decide to hire.
5. Contact an Agency: While it is ideal to get a carer on the recommendation of your friends or other family members, it is not always possible. Contacting an agency which specializes in providing carers for elderly members of your family can be the easiest way to get in touch with someone with the skills you are looking for. If you do not know of any such agencies, you can contact your local social services department and they will put you in touch with one.
6. Make reference checks: It is important to make reference checks for someone you plan to hire, especially if the carer will be attending to the elderly in your absence. A lot of carers for the elderly are known to abuse them and even defraud them. Making background checks or speaking to previous employers will help you rest assured that the person you have hired is the right one.
About the Author
Andy has been blogging about senior issues for over 4 years. Andy has published numerous articles on topics including patient handling, elderly aids and more. When he is not writing, Andy distributes mobility equipment including rollators, crutches and walking frames.
