Choosing Senior Care Is An Important Decision. Do Your Research

Senior care is multi-faceted. Its demanding, rewarding and exhausting. Ultimately, its one of the most important jobs anyone can take on for the simple reason that in senior care, the caregiver is responsible for another persons well being.
Choosing someone to be a caregiver for a loved one is one of the biggest responsibilities many of us will eventually face during our lifetime. For many, its inevitable. What are some things that need to be considered when finding proper senior care? To start, here is a list of questions to help you choose the best service:
1. Shop around. Find at least five agencies that offer senior care and compare services.
2. In many states, these companies are not licensed by a state agency because they dont provide medical care. So do some investigating and conduct background checks. Ask the senior care service for not one, but a minimum of five referrals. That may sound like a lot, but when you put a loved one in a strangers hands, wouldnt you want to explore all angles and make sure theyre in safe, good hands?
3. That leads to the nitty-gritty. Conduct criminal background checks on the caregiver service as well as the chosen caregiver. Also, see if the company and person are bonded.
4. Find out who is responsible for paying your caregivers Social Security and income taxes.
5. Find out what kind of training the caregiver has had. And is the training ongoing? Ask the senior care service to describe the training session and attend one.
6. What is the caregivers driving record? Many people will overlook this, but honestly, it can be very telling. For example, what if the person has not just one, but several DUIs? Not a good thing, especially if the person will need to drive your loved one around. There are public data available on the Internet for a small fee. Its worth investing in one of these services so you can perform your own investigation.
7. Make sure the caregiver is compatible with your loved one. Ask he or she to pay a visit. Observe. Ultimately, ask for your loved ones feedback. Its important that he or she play a role in choosing a caregiver, if this is at all possible.
8. Is the senior care service covered by long-term care insurance? What paperwork and other requirements does the senior care service need?
9. Ask the senior care service how it supervises and oversees the quality of the care provided by its caregivers. Ask to see the evaluation or criteria sheets if possible.
10. Ask for a copy of the service agreement and a list of prices. Take it home and compare.
11. Check with your citys Better Business Bureau to see if there have been any complaints lodged against the senior care company. Check also with the district attorneys office.
12. Prices vary for senior care services. They range from $10 to $25 per hour. Typically theres a minimum service requirement of at least two to four hours per day. Find out so there will be no surprises. Services can also be short-term or long-term. It may or may not include weekends and holidays. Ask to find out for certain.