Hiring Home Care For Your Loved One: How To Know They're Doing Their Job
When you take the step to hire home care for you aging loved one, you may feel apprehensive about the whole process. After all, a virtual stranger (or series of virtual strangers) will be entering your family member's home on a regular basis with little to no supervision. In your mind, anything could happen. However, when you hire a home senior care service for your loved one, there are many ways to determine whether or not the people you hired are doing their jobs properly. All you need to do is know what is within the scope of your power and rights to monitor and assess performance of your loved one's home care providers. Then you can work to ensure that your loved one receives the best care possible.
Observe and Oversee
Perhaps the most obvious way to assess home care staff performance is to be present while they are working. Surprise visits during staff shifts will allow you to see how things are operating when staff does not think anyone is looking.
While home care professionals are not always happy to have family members breathing over their shoulders or telling them how to do their jobs, being able to see your hired help in action can put your mind at ease and help you to ensure your loved one is receiving the best care possible. Try not to interfere with staff as they work, particularly when they are trying to transport, bathe, or otherwise physically assist your loved one, however. This could actually cause your loved one embarrassment or injury.
Read Staff Activity Logs
Home care services keep meticulous accounts of their daily tasks and activities. Nearly every service keeps a book or journal at your loved one's home to keep track of what occurred during their shift. This book gives insight into the physical and mental state of your loved one as well as any conflicts or problems that may have arisen.
If you are your loved one's appointed guardian, you have a right to look at this staff activity log whenever you like. However, if not, you and your loved one can request to look at the book together. If staff provides medical services, they are required to maintain HIPAA regulations and protect your loved one's health information, meaning if you are not a guardian or medical decision maker, you will need permission from your loved one to look at the records.
Install A Hidden Surveillance System
If you are still not satisfied that your loved one is being properly cared for, you may want to install a hidden camera or surveillance system to be able to see how staff behaves when nobody is watching them. This is particularly useful if you or your loved one suspect mistreatment, theft, or shirking of duties.
If you choose to go this route, be sure that you do so with the permission of your loved one (if they are lucid enough to agree), and that you place the cameras in key areas. These areas can include the bedroom, kitchen, and living room.
As you can see, there are several methods you can use to determine whether or not your loved one's home care service providers are performing their duties properly. If you find that they are not, you can talk to the leaders and managers of the service, such as ComForcare Home Care - Macedonia, OH, or find another home service that provides senior care in your area.
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