Living with and caring for an aging loved one can be difficult, time-consuming, and stressful. But, at the same time, it is an honor to be there to provide care to someone you care about.
Over time, you may discover that supporting aging seniors or those with disabilities can involve several different levels of care, and you may need help to provide everything your loved one needs. Here’s more information on caregiver resources and support to give you the education and information you need in these special circumstances.
Types of caregiving
Caregiving at home, whether you’re caregiving for parents or caregiving for grandparents, will always include a wide variety of tasks, and the specific needs of the person you care for will vary based on their health concerns and abilities. There are different levels of caregiving:
- Caregiving at Home: Caregiving at home involves tasks like medication management, meal preparation, and assistance with daily activities. The caregiver is responsible for the senior’s care around the clock.
- Part-Time Caregiving: Part-time caregivers spend time in the home and outside of the home. This is a more flexible arrangement that works well with seniors who can take care of themselves most of the time. The arrangement has the potential to be stressful since a caregiver isn’t always available and will need to split time between their home and the senior’s.
- Caregiving at Assisted Living Facilities: Assisted living facilities provide a higher level of care to seniors while still preserving as much of their independence as possible. This kind of care comes with higher costs and can be stressful since it involves a move for the senior and coordination with the facility’s staff.
Each kind of care has its own difficulties and can be stressful for caregivers. It’s important to build connections and have a community to support you in this role — below are several resources that can help.
9 resources for caregiving at home
The following are nine of the top resources for caregivers supporting an aging individual at home:
- Family Caregiver Alliance National Center on Caregiving (FCA): The FCA provides education, offers services, advocates for caregivers, and performs research in this field.
- Aging Life Care Association (ALCA): ALCA offers support with assessment, monitoring, planning, education, advocacy, and family caregiver coaching.
- Eldercare Locator: Eldercare Locator helps you connect to local services for older adults and their loved ones.
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (MediCal in California): The CMS is the official resource for Medicare and Medicaid through the United States government.
- Meals on Wheels America: Meals on Wheels America serves over two million seniors, ensuring they have access to food.
- National Adult Day Services Association (NADSA): NADSA is a system of professional integrated home- and community-based services for aging adults.
- National Alliance for Care at Home (NACH): NACH provides information on hospice and palliative care.
- National Volunteer Caregiving Network (NVCN): NVCN is a network of volunteer caregivers located around the country.
- Visiting Nurses Association of America (VNAA): VNAA is an organization that supports home-based care providers in hospice, palliative care, and home health.
Finding help to support your in-home care needs
Finding caregiving support at home can be done in one of two ways. You can hire through an agency or privately.
Agencies
Hiring caregiver support through an agency is an option. The pros include that the agency runs background checks, handles hiring and firing, takes care of taxes, and can match you with an attendant with the skills you’re looking for. And, if that individual can’t come because they’re sick or go on vacation, the agency can send someone else in their place.
There are downsides to agency hires, too. For example, you may see a number of different attendants if you don’t have regular hours to keep one or two people rotating shifts. You may also see higher rates of staff turnover and have to pay more than you would for a private hire.
Private hires
Hiring privately is an option that can open doors to individuals who don’t work with agencies. You can negotiate directly with them to work out a fee and scheduling arrangement. You’re the “boss,” too, meaning you may ask for more flexibility in what the new hire does in the home. However, you will need to verify their past employment, call references, run payroll, and take care of issues like employee disputes or taxes.
Another downside of a private hire is that you won’t necessarily have a backup if the worker you hire gets sick. That’s fine for some families who just need a helping hand, but for others, the lack of a replacement on demand is an impossibility.
Caregiving is a challenge: Support is available
Caregiving can be difficult, but it is a calling and something much needed by the aging and disabled. While it can sometimes be overwhelming, know that there is help available. It’s up to you to choose the level of care that you feel comfortable providing and then choose whether or not you need additional support. If so, there are options for hiring help privately or through agencies to ensure the highest quality of care at home.
*Disclaimer:
References to any commercial product, service, or enterprise are provided solely for the convenience of the reader and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Spring Venture Group (SVG) or United Medicare Advisors.
