Getting Your Parents to Agree to Care at Home

Getting Your Parents to Agree to Receiving Care at Home

Are you considering having a Home Health Aid come into your parents home? Learn from my experience and prepare.

The need: To have a home health care aide come into the home from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., 7 days per week. We were told by the Home Health Care Agency that different people will be rotating the nighttime shift.

Day 1

The home health aide was nice and knew what to do. She was age appropriate and communicating was easy. I did write out specific tasks to be done.

Day 2

The person scheduled called out sick. The agency sent a young lady with a shoulder issue. The plan of care specifically read, “needs assistance with transferring out of bed.” My mother sent her away within an hour. Fortunately, we did not get charged.

Day 3

This aide walks into my parent’s home and takes charge right away. She goes to the freezer and gets bacon out for breakfast. She grabs my father and very loudly instructs him to stand up straight. In addition, she used an entire bottle of shampoo to wash his hair.

She gave my father toast for breakfast! LOL - She will not be coming back.

After long, stressful attempts to get my parents to agree to 7 days per week of home care, they have now changed their mind to 3 days per week. Ugh!

Share your stories with me.

Section V in my book Key Solutions for Caregivers provides information on care settings and offers suggestions to remember when using Home Health Care Agencies.

Quick Tips for Senior Care During Caregiver Vacation

If you or a family member are caring for someone and would like to go on vacation, consider these options:

1. Adult children take over.

2. Adult children take over with the help of a home health aide in the morning to a assist with bathing and dressing for a few hours a day.

3. Assisted Living Facility possibly close to the adult children’s home so they can visit.

4. Nursing Home.

5. 24-hour home health aide (live in).

When speaking with any of the above-mentioned resources refer to a short stay as “respite” and usually the assisted living facility will have a furnished room for these types of stays. To shop around for the best daily rate ask the following:

• What is included? 

• What might be an add-on services?

• Discuss specific needs that your family member has and if the facility is equipped to handle those needs.
  

Short stays require you pay in full prior to the person’s arrival. It is important to ask about the refund policy if for some reason the person changes their mind and/or goes to the hospital. If the person needing care has a long-term care insurance policy and their doctor certifies that the current illness will last 90 days or more, I would suggest submitting a claim and the respite stay maybe covered by the insurance policy. All policies vary; therefore, you must check with your insurance carrier for specific details and qualifications.

Visiting Nursing Homes with Hospice of New Jersey

It is such a pleasure to visit so many nursing homes like Del Ridge Family of Caring in Paramus. These heroes are awesome! You can actually feel their warmth and smiles through the masks. Stayed tuned while Hospice of New Jersey continues to visit other locations.