How to find in home care worker for a few hours a week?

[Anonymous]

I need to find someone to go to my parents' house 8-10ish hours/week to help my mom who has Parkinson's bathe, get dressed, and really just be with her. My dad needs to be able to get out of the house and not worry about her being home alone for an hour or two. Any idea where to start looking? And if I find an individual person, do I need to be worried about them being insured?

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Bump

[Anonymous]

We found a company (Assisting Hands) to help my mom. Originally wanted only 8 or so hours a week, but settled on 12 hours (three four hour days). Their minimum was 12 hours if I wanted the same person week to week. I pay $38 an hour, if we upped the hours to 20 the cost would come down a bit. So far it has worked out pretty well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We found a company (Assisting Hands) to help my mom. Originally wanted only 8 or so hours a week, but settled on 12 hours (three four hour days). Their minimum was 12 hours if I wanted the same person week to week. I pay $38 an hour, if we upped the hours to 20 the cost would come down a bit. So far it has worked out pretty well.

OP, PP showing how this is usually the best way to hire PT help. A couple hours/day is not financially feasible for most people in this line of work. Some people luck out with someone in the neighborhood looking for only a few hours - but this is fairly rare.

[Anonymous]

Our experience is if you need someone to help her bathe and get dressed, rather than just make sure she's safe and tidy up it will cost more and it may be worth while to hire someone for more hours than you think. Nobody wants to show up for a few hours and be working that hard for that short a time for the menial pay they get. You want to weave in time when the person is paid to just chat with your parent too or pay enough for the short period of time that it is worth it to drive there and drive to the next job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I need to find someone to go to my parents' house 8-10ish hours/week to help my mom who has Parkinson's bathe, get dressed, and really just be with her. My dad needs to be able to get out of the house and not worry about her being home alone for an hour or two. Any idea where to start looking? And if I find an individual person, do I need to be worried about them being insured?

Thank you!

Just posted, but yes, if someone is helping her bathe and get dressed you want them bonded and insured and you want references. Also be prepared that things happen. My mom had a PT come to the home and she got seriously injured during the PT session falling. She was falling a lot and the PT was helping with that, but it is hard working with elders who are frail. We didn't blame the PT, but it was traumatic for us and for the PT and mom because we needed to call an ambulance since she hit her head and could not get up. So, prepare your dad, things can go wrong, but you hope he gets a break and he needs to be understanding if a mishap happens.

[Anonymous]

OP you should talk to a home care agency. They will have a nurse do an assessment and help you figure out your insurance options etc.

What you’re talking about is skilled nursing care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our experience is if you need someone to help her bathe and get dressed, rather than just make sure she's safe and tidy up it will cost more and it may be worth while to hire someone for more hours than you think. Nobody wants to show up for a few hours and be working that hard for that short a time for the menial pay they get. You want to weave in time when the person is paid to just chat with your parent too or pay enough for the short period of time that it is worth it to drive there and drive to the next job.

+1

If you want just a couple hours a day for that strenuous and unpleasant labor, you’re probably going to have to pay a lot and would probably have a tough time finding g someone. If you hire them for 4 hours a day a few days a week, your hourly rate could probably be lower and you might have an easier time finding someone.

[Anonymous]

Visiting angles.