Your Business

You have taken the courageous step of hiring a home health caregiver to take care of your loved ones who may be either elderly parents or maybe a relative recovering from an injury or battling a disease. It can be challenging when you first hire a home health aide or nurse, who will be coming into your home every day to care for your loved one. This blog post contains a few helpful ideas that can help you make the transition a bit smoother.

If you are working with a home health care agency you should have a conversation with them and get clear on what kind of support you can expect from your caregiver. While this might be your first experience working with a home health caregiver, the agency has years of experience helping to support the development of mutually beneficial relationships between health care workers and their families that use their services. Make sure you get all of your questions answered and be in constant communication with the agency as new questions arise.

It’s important to let go of any feelings of embarrassment about describing exactly what you need help with. Home health caregiver’s are professionals and they have years of experience working with elderly or ill patients. Chances are they have faced similar circumstances, many times in the past. Being honest and clear about your needs, and the needs of your loved one will help the relationship develop much more smoothly.

Clearly express your preferences up front about your home. If you do not allow smoking inside of your house, be sure to make that clear, and express any other rules or preferences that you might have.

It may be helpful to work with both the agency and the home health aide to develop a daily schedule for when they are on duty. Your loved one most likely has established routines that they would like to preserve for their own comfort. Communicating the importance of sticking with these routines can help avoid future conflict.

Many home care services agencies provide hourly care for patients from 4 to 24 hours per day. You will work with your agency to determine the number of hours and the level of care that your loved one needs. The home health aide will be monitoring the patient’s condition daily and communicating with you and the agency so that when the need arises, changes can be made in the type and level of care required for that patient.

When it comes to meal preparation, it is helpful to be clear about what the patient’s preferences are for particular meals. Providing everything they need to prepare meals each day makes it easier for them to do their job properly.

If your loved one is suffering from Alzheimer’s or Dementia, the home health care worker should be trained and have experience in working with the elderly with these conditions. (Make sure you request a caregiver with these qualifications) People with Dementia can sometimes become hostile, which can be challenging for you to see when you have known this person for their entire life and now they seem to have morphed into a person that you don’t know or understand. Allow the home care worker to follow their training and their instincts in caring for your loved one.

Linnea Goodrich is the owner of Firstat Nursing Services, which is the only Homecare Agency in San Diego that is both State licensed and certified by the Alzheimer’s Association.  Firstat Nursing Services has been providing a higher standard of home nursing, home health and homecare for elderly, disabled and injured people in the greater San Diego area since 1997.  To pick up a copy of her free report “Critical Questions You Must Ask Before You Hire a Home Care Provider,” Visit,http://FirstatofSanDiego.com

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You have taken the courageous step of hiring a home health caregiver to take care of your loved ones who may be either elderly parents or maybe a relative recovering from an injury or battling a disease. It can be challenging when you first hire a home health aide or nurse, who will be coming into your home every day to care for your loved one. This blog post contains a few helpful ideas that can help you make the transition a bit smoother.

If you are working with a home health care agency you should have a conversation with them and get clear on what kind of support you can expect from your caregiver. While this might be your first experience working with a home health caregiver, the agency has years of experience helping to support the development of mutually beneficial relationships between health care workers and their families that use their services. Make sure you get all of your questions answered and be in constant communication with the agency as new questions arise.

It’s important to let go of any feelings of embarrassment about describing exactly what you need help with. Home health caregiver’s are professionals and they have years of experience working with elderly or ill patients. Chances are they have faced similar circumstances, many times in the past. Being honest and clear about your needs, and the needs of your loved one will help the relationship develop much more smoothly.

Clearly express your preferences up front about your home. If you do not allow smoking inside of your house, be sure to make that clear, and express any other rules or preferences that you might have.

It may be helpful to work with both the agency and the home health aide to develop a daily schedule for when they are on duty. Your loved one most likely has established routines that they would like to preserve for their own comfort. Communicating the importance of sticking with these routines can help avoid future conflict.

Many home care services agencies provide hourly care for patients from 4 to 24 hours per day. You will work with your agency to determine the number of hours and the level of care that your loved one needs. The home health aide will be monitoring the patient’s condition daily and communicating with you and the agency so that when the need arises, changes can be made in the type and level of care required for that patient.

When it comes to meal preparation, it is helpful to be clear about what the patient’s preferences are for particular meals. Providing everything they need to prepare meals each day makes it easier for them to do their job properly.

If your loved one is suffering from Alzheimer’s or Dementia, the home health care worker should be trained and have experience in working with the elderly with these conditions. (Make sure you request a caregiver with these qualifications) People with Dementia can sometimes become hostile, which can be challenging for you to see when you have known this person for their entire life and now they seem to have morphed into a person that you don’t know or understand. Allow the home care worker to follow their training and their instincts in caring for your loved one.

Linnea Goodrich is the owner of Firstat Nursing Services, which is the only Homecare Agency in San Diego that is both State licensed and certified by the Alzheimer’s Association.  Firstat Nursing Services has been providing a higher standard of home nursing, home health and homecare for elderly, disabled and injured people in the greater San Diego area since 1997.  To pick up a copy of her free report “Critical Questions You Must Ask Before You Hire a Home Care Provider,” Visit,http://FirstatofSanDiego.com

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