It can be difficult to know how to prepare for in-home care services. The process can feel overwhelming, and while you may know that you or your loved one needs help, you don’t know where to start.
Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to prepare for home care and help the transition go smoothly.
Assess the need for care
The first step is to assess the individual’s health and what they need help with.
You may already know that you or your loved one needs help because of signs such as poor diet, problems with hygiene, challenges with proper medication doses and times, or trouble cleaning the house or cooking.
Use this checklist of activities of daily living (ADLs) to help you understand what tasks, such as going to the bathroom, grooming, moving around, running errands, or meal preparation that the individual needs help with.
Once you have a list of the services you need, you can compare the different types of care available.
Talk to and work with your loved one
One of the most important steps is talking to your loved ones and working together as a team. Talking to your loved one about getting help can be a difficult conversation.
Focus on the benefits and how having in-home care will help them remain as independent and comfortable in their own home as possible.
Recognize their autonomy and listen to their concerns, wants, and needs. Your loved one may feel angry or scared— take the time to address any emotional challenges that arise.
For more help making these conversations go well, check out How to Talk to Elderly Parents About Accepting Help.
Consult your medical team
Consult all your doctors and everyone on your medical team to get their advice and recommendations for home care services.
Consider cost
Depending on your state and your insurance or Medicare or Medicaid, in-home care services may be covered, or there may be other financial benefits that can help with the cost.
Do your research on this and consider the cost so that you know what services will best fit your budget.
Find the right caregiver
Now it’s time to find the caregiver.
First, determine if you want to hire a caregiver directly or from a home care agency. Using an agency is easier because they will be responsible for hiring, screening, training, and paying the caregivers.
Plus, they would be able to provide multiple caregivers or a backup if the need occurred.
Do your research on local agencies. You want a home care provider that offers the services you need, has a good reputation, and screens and trains their caregivers.
Check that the agency is bonded, licensed, and insured.
Call the agency for a consultation or home visit to determine a care plan and see if you think they are a good fit.
When you meet any potential caregivers, have multiple people there so that you can get a wide range of assessments.
Learn more about How to Find the Right Home Care Agency.
Tailor services
One of the biggest benefits of home care is that the services are tailored to the individual’s needs.
Part of coming up with a care plan with the agency is determining what services you or your loved one needs, such as:
- Help with activities of daily living
- Light housekeeping
- Meal preparation
- Companionship
- Respite care
- Dementia or Alzheimer’s care
Don’t be afraid to state your preferences and ask questions.
Create a schedule
The frequency of care can also be tailored to the individual’s needs. Figure out how often and for how long you want/need the caregiver to come and coordinate a schedule.
Inform friends and family
Make sure that you inform friends and family about the in-home care, when the caregiver will be coming, and how they will be helping.
You can coordinate visits with the caregiver and figure out a new schedule for the caregiving duties that family and friends perform.
Prepare your home
Once you have home care planned, you need to prepare your home.
While you can clean, this is not necessary as home caregivers can help with light housekeeping. You can go through with them to declutter and ensure that your home is safe and accessible by using the CDC’s fall prevention checklist.
It is a good idea to label things that the caregiver will need to know where they are, especially medication. Now is also the time to decide if you want to lock up any valuables or make any areas of your home off-limits to the caregiver.
Talk to the home caregiver about their policies for entering homes—will they be given a key, or will they knock and be let in?
Think about how to make space for the caregiver, such as:
- A place for them to park
- A place for them to store their belonging
- Where they can hang their coat
- Where they should store their food
- Which bathroom you want them to use
- Where they can sit and write any case notes that are needed
Taking the time to ensure that your home is a comfortable place for everyone will make the transition to in-home care easier.
Prepare pets
Talk to the home care agency or caregiver about their policy regarding pets—some may require pets to be put up while the caregiver is there, and others will be fine with pets being around as long as they aren’t aggressive.
Either way, you want a plan to be able to put your pet in a safe area away.
If you need help moving around or going to the bathroom, you should also have a plan to keep your pet out of your walkway to prevent falls.
Prepare information
Make sure that you have all the necessary information prepared for the caregiver, including:
- A contact list, including their doctors and friends or family
- List of medications
- List of diagnoses, symptoms, allergies, or other health challenges that the caregiver should be aware of
- List of things they need help with
- List of hobbies they can do together
- List of foods that they like and dislike
- Any cultural or religious practices that the caregiver should be aware of
Put a list of emergency contacts in an easily accessible place, such as on the fridge.
Have an emergency plan
In addition to the emergency contact list, you should come up with an emergency plan. Make sure the caregiver knows which doctors and loved ones to call.
You can also be prepared by asking the agency about the process for extra care or changing the care plan for unexpected situations.
Communicate and set boundaries
Once you begin working with a caregiver, it is important to build a relationship by communicating and being open and honest.
Review responsibilities and expectations with them, establish ground rules, talk about how to maintain the individual’s privacy, and things they have in common.
Create new routine
One of the biggest fears about starting in-home care is often about the change of routine, so it is important to work with the caregiver to create a new routine.
Maintain the individual’s normal day-to-day schedule as much as possible, such as when they wake up or eat and what they like to do.
Monitor
From the start, set times to check in and discuss how things are going or any changes or concerns you have.
Ready to start in-home care services?
At Pacific Angels Home Care, we provide screened, trained, compassionate caregivers to help you or your loved one. We tailor our services to the individual’s needs and can work with any schedule.
We are bonded, licensed, and insured.
For those looking to start in-home care services in the Santa Cruz area, call (831) 708-2876 or reach us online to schedule a free in-home consultation.
Grace Newman
Grace Newman is a freelance writer for hire and tutor from Danville, Illinois. She is a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Communication and was an editorial intern and editor for Parlia (a Wikipedia of opinions website). Currently, Grace writes about online education at her blog www.getsmartsoon.com. When she isn’t writing, she loves playing card games, having picnics, and binging her latest TV show obsession.
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