Are you providing care for a loved one in need of assistance? If so, are you trying to find additional help and not sure what that would look like or where to start? Additional help can be found in hiring a professional caregiver. Below are some suggested questions to ask yourself to help evaluate if you need to hire a professional caregiver. These questions will help you conduct your own evaluation of the situation and make the best decision possible.
How to Evaluate When You Need to Hire a Professional Caregiver
To help you best determine if you need to hire a professional caregiver, answer the questions below, starting with ‘Does your loved one’:
- Want to live at home?
- Require daily medical treatment or attention beyond your expertise?
- Have mobility issues requiring 24/7 support?
- Have a chronic condition impacting his/her memory and general ability to manage day-to-day activities?
- Cause you significant stress and anxiety, ultimately impacting your health?
- Require you to take a significant amount of time off from work?
If you answered “Yes” to one or more of these six questions, then you may want to consider hiring additional help. Hiring a professional caregiver can help not only with providing care for your loved one, but can also benefit you by reducing stress and enabling you to remain focused on other priorities in your life such as work and family. The type of support a caregiver can provide at home includes:
- Medication management
- Bathing and general daily support
- Cooking/cleaning
- And much more
Additional Considerations When Hiring a Caregiver
The decision to hire a caregiver can be considered from two different viewpoints: the family caregiver’s perspective and the care recipient’s perspective. As the family caregiver, the need for hiring a professional caregiver may be obvious since you experience the most significant burden, however, your aging loved one (the care recipient) may not think hiring help is necessary since they are used to you always being there.
If you do decide to hire a caregiver, remember that you are not surrendering nor are you being selfish. In fact, the decision should be in the best interest of your loved one with the goal of providing the best quality care for them. Many people have hired home caregivers based on different needs – from help with the activities of daily living to companionship. So evaluate your situation, discuss your recommendation with your family and loved one, and make the best choice that helps everyone.
