Benefits of hiring a certified caregiver
Caregivers are professionals who has undergone training or qualification in geriatric care to provide basic care and assistance for individuals in need. It is a profession that is increasingly in demand in Canada, UK, United States, etc. And a great alternative for those families who do not have the ability to provide this type of care or who do not want to place their parents in the care of institutions, such as nursing homes. See how this service works, its benefits and the criteria for hiring a caregiver.
How does a caregiving service work?
The services of a caregiver are useful for families who do not have the skills to care of individuals in need, especially the elderly, those with physical or mental limitations, or for families who have chosen to have their family member at home, without resorting to specialized clinics or establishments. There are also those who prefer there’s to be a qualified person to provide care to the elderly in the family home and who do not have time to provide care, as they work outside the home or need to remain economically active.
Caregiver services have grown significantly in the world in the last decade. The population is aging rapidly and for various reasons families seek to keep their elderly relatives at home, but they do not always have the time or skills to care for the older relative in the comfort of their own home. Not all families agree to send their parents to nursing homes and prefer more humanized care.
A caregiver is a professional who has undergone training or qualification in geriatric care, which involves helping with nutrition, personal hygiene and the environment in which the elderly person is, applying medications at the correct times, helping to take the elderly person to treatments – such as physiotherapy, among others, if he needs it – to keep him company, and in various procedures common to the elderly, bedridden or not. But choosing a caregiver can be a task that requires time, patience and some criteria.
Requirements for hiring a caregiver
The first criterion for choosing a good caregiver is perhaps the main one: the professional must love what they do and be empathetic to elderly people. It is necessary that your behavior is attentive and respectful, that you can feel affection and provide love for your activities.
The caregiver must have training in this area – there are many courses spread across the country and today it is increasingly easier to find trained and well-trained elderly caregivers. Many caregivers are also nurses or nursing technicians – in this case, it is an option for those with special medical needs. The more qualified the professional, the better. Although, you also need to have some essential skills.
Request all possible information about the professional’s other experiences – complete CV, references and recommendations, contact numbers of other families, certificates they have, etc. Before hiring, check all information about the professional, thus avoiding more serious problems.
The transparency of this professional relationship must be established from the beginning: negotiate hours, salary, days off, draw up an employment contract for the provision of services. If the caregiver has a registered CNPJ or is a MEI – Individual Microentrepreneur (which is increasingly common among caregivers), the family will be able to request invoices for the services provided, among other guarantees. Remember that services carried out at home are based on the minimum wage.
Essential Skills for Successful Caregiving
There are also other necessary skills for successful caregiving that the contractor must be aware of: tolerance, understanding, good communication, organization, time management, ability to motivate, patience and readiness. Experience is also a criterion to consider – it is important that the contractor checks the professional’s references. Additionally, you must know how to perform the following tasks:
Motivate the elderly to maintain time-spatial orientation in the best possible way.
Dedicate care to your diet, both in terms of hygiene and quality.
Have an adequate level of education – know how to read and write fluently, understand complexities, etc.
Observe skin hydration care to avoid injuries, as elderly people’s skin is quite fragile.
Maintain clothing care.
Dedicate yourself to maintaining the elderly person’s personal hygiene – helping with teeth brushing, daily baths, hair combed, nails clean and cut, wound care, etc.
Encourage entertainment and leisure activities, motivating the elderly to become active – walks, sunbathing, reading, going to the cinema and theater, visiting friends, etc.
Pay attention to the safety of the elderly in every way.
Know how to administer medications correctly and at the times prescribed by the elderly person’s doctor.
Work to prevent bedsores (pressure ulcers). This is quite common in bedridden elderly people, who must frequently change position to avoid bedsores.
Communicate to the family any relevant observations in the elderly’s routine.
Maintain the proposed work schedule – without delays or unjustified absences.
You must know how to deal with inappropriate behavior – there must be dialogue between the caregiver and the family about certain situations.
Benefits of hiring a certified caregiver
There are many advantages to hiring certified caregiver. Specialization of care is one of the main benefits, as the family will be providing specific care to the needs of their elderly relative. To achieve this, you need to choose a person who is truly certified in the field. Another advantage is that the individual will have company, especially when other family members work outside the home. This does not replace the elderly person’s contact with their family, they will just have more support when they need it and they will not feel alone.
In many cases, in addition to empathy and technical knowledge, another person is needed to care for the individual or elderly person who has strength, even more so in the case of elderly people with physical limitations. Tasks such as taking the elderly person out of the bathtub or placing them there or even taking them from the bed to the wheelchair, for example, require technique and physical preparation – in this case, it is necessary to hire a certified caregiver.
It is encouraging for the family to know that their elderly person will have all the hygiene and health care at the designated times. There are medications that require administration at the right time, and the family cannot always be present to medicate the elderly person. There are also specific techniques that facilitate this procedure, which is a great advantage of hire a certified caregiver.
Often, not just the family, but even the elderly person feels more comfortable with a certified caregiver – especially in personal hygiene and cleaning tasks. Older people are often shy about this type of activity. A third person, in this case, a certified caregiver in the field, may be better accepted.