Choosing a Home Care Provider to Meet Your Needs
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The process of choosing a care provider for a loved one’s care can be overwhelming.
Preparing a checklist of needs before contacting a home care provider service would be helpful to narrow down options and for selecting the service provider that can best meet your needs.
List all important “care needs” upfront. This list would help determine the appropriate level of care needed and the training required for the homecare service provider to deliver the care that meets your needs.
Selection
Go down the list and make notes of specific needs you would like to prioritize.
If the priority need is for companionship & mentoring and not much of hands-on support, list examples of activities that would help meet those needs.
If the crucial need is transportation to doctor appointments, social events, shopping etc. with assistance in and out of the vehicle, indicate on the list that an insured and licensed driver would be required.
If assistive technology is required, make sure to list the type with details. (Senior transportation is available in many cities).
Loved ones may need assistance to achieve certain health outcomes. Highlight the goals and the specialized home care needed to ensure that the homecare service can provide well trained caregivers that would deliver the highest quality of care.
If there are other specific skills needed to support your loved ones, add them to the list. For example, loved one may require specialized diet, medication, wound care, or assistance with routine activities that keep a home clean, safe, and well-organized. A home care service provider trained to meet these needs would be required.
Once you have prioritized the needs on the list, call or visit the home care provider service and take the list with you. This would make the conversation easier and help with matching the right service and best qualified provider to deliver quality care to your loved ones.