No matter what age you are, you want to look and feel your best. That can be challenging to do when you know you need senior personal care. The thought of asking for personal care services can cause you to be anxious and overwhelmed. It’s natural to have those feelings as bringing in a caregiver will change your routine and your life.  

 

As you begin the hiring journey, try to think about the type of personal care services you need and want. This process will help you ensure that you’re getting the best benefits of personal care services for seniors. You’ll want to ensure that whoever you hire will meet your needs and be a match with your personality. 

What Are Senior Personal Care Services?

Senior personal care services are services that are provided by a personal caregiver to help older adults needing assistance with their activities of daily living (ADL). For example, ADLs include things like bathing, grooming, dressing, moving around, toileting, and eating. 

 

Personal caregivers provide services in the comfort of your home. To help put you at ease, they’re trained in personal caregiving skills. Good caregivers deliver personal care with sensitivity and confidentiality. 

Tips For Hiring Senior Personal Care Services

A home care agency is your best resource for ensuring that your loved ones get the care they need. A professional agency will be aware of the rules and regulations for personal care services and will abide by them. 

 

A quality caregiver agency values your input when making caregiver recommendations. To better understand the process of hiring a senior personal caregiver, we’re providing 6 valuable tips for hiring a caregiver for senior personal care.

 

1. Conducting a Needs Assessment

 

Your primary physician or medical team will help you understand the scope of your needs, and they’ll make suggestions for the types of personal care services that will be the most helpful to you. Personal care services can include helping you recover from an illness or injury, lending a hand with daily tasks, and helping you keep on track with your normal routines. 

 

2. Evaluating Caregiver Experience

 

A potential caregiver’s experience will let you know how long they’ve been working in the field and in what capacity. 

 

3. Reviewing Caregiver Qualifications

 

Assess the caregiver’s qualifications to see what certifications and training they’ve had. It’s common for personal caregivers to have CPR and/or First Aid certifications. You’ll be looking for assurance they can handle an emergency. 

 

If English isn’t your first language, you’ll want someone who can communicate in your preferred language and who understands and respects your culture. 

 

4. Assessing Criteria for Supervision 

 

Personal caregivers should have some type of supervision. An agency should be able to describe the types of checks and balances they offer to ensure you or your loved ones get safe, quality care. A good caregiver agency may make surprise visits on their workers or interview the person needing care to make sure all is going well. 

 

Agencies may also utilize software to monitor attendance and keep tabs on caregivers’ locations during their assigned shifts. Don’t be afraid to ask hard questions about how an agency monitors its personal caregivers. 

 

5. Scheduling Time to Meet with Caregivers

 

You can learn a lot about a caregiver by meeting them in person. Your agency should automatically set up a time for you to meet with your preferred caregiver candidate to ensure you have a comfort level with them. Ask for a meeting if the agency doesn’t offer it. Personal caregiving is sensitive in nature and you’ll want to be sure you’re compatible with your caregiver. 

 

The agency should be able to tell you why they believe a particular caregiver will be a good match for you. Be sure to voice your preferences such as age, gender, ethnic background, or other criteria. 

 

6. Billing

 

Have a discussion about the cost of services and be clear on how the billing works. Find out if they will bill you, your insurance company, Medicaid or  Medicare. Learn how often services will be billed and how to ensure the caregiver agency gets paid. Wrap up these details early on in the relationship to avoid any extra costs or surprises down the road. 

 

You’ll have lots of possibilities for hiring senior personal care in Atlanta. Where will you find qualified personal caregivers? Your physician, nurse, or another member of your medical team can often share referral resources with you. Trusted friends, family members, or neighbors are also good sources of information on quality personal caregiving services. 

 

Medi-Cure Home Care is the premier home care agency for hiring senior personal caregivers in Atlanta to provide personal care for seniors. Call us today at 770-755-1394 for more information!