How to get just 1 hour per day of homemaker services?

[Anonymous]

Hopefully this won't be taken the wrong way. You are trying to get as much bang for your buck cramming this all into an hour. When we paid for a half day and then a full day we were happy if the person just provided companionship, made sure meds were taken and made sure our loved one ate. These are poorly paid jobs and you need to factor in downtime. That is what makes it appealing despite the poor pay. If you are willing to pay top dollar for someone to do all you ask in an hour, great. Otherwise I don't think you will find someone willing to be on the entire hour. It is nice to have someone there to chat, etc. If the doctor is recommending cameras this is more than a one hour a day gig.

[Anonymous]

Post on Next door or a neighborhood listserv. When we had a similar situation, we found a SAHM that was willing to take the job. She would walk her child to the bus stop which was near our relative's house, then she would stop in and take care of our relative. She would check the house out, figure out if there were basic chores she could do (change a light bulb, clean a mess in the fridge, load or run the dishwasher) then she would make sure that their meal was prepped for lunch, make sure to remind them of medication and head home. We had it flexible, e.g. not exactly one hour. We often paid her 2-3 hours and I'm sure that some of that was just hanging around, talking to our relative and wasting time, but it was companionship and making sure everything was handled. We weren't worried about the number of hours, just that it was done every day. She probably averaged about 6-8 hours a week and we left it to her to decide how much time was needed.

It was so worth it to be flexible and allow her to charge more time (we noticed that she charged more time near her child's birthday and near the holidays, but we didn't mind subsidizing her holidays). Plus, she and our relative developed a nice friendship that was worthwhile to encourage.

So, my suggestion is to post it and be flexible about paying more to find someone who will be able to do what you want.

[Anonymous]

I think the pay is key. What would it be worth to someone to drive to and from his house (time, gas, wear and tear)? I think it depends on the COLA. Around here I think $100 per hour

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would get an aging care professional to come to the home and assess level of support needed. A doctor sees him briefly. There is a good chance he needs more than an hour a day.

As others said in most areas only a nurse can have him take the pill. It gets tricky with checking if he took it.

If it's too much for him to make his own sandwich then I would get more than an hour a day. Also, things can go down hill fast with a fall or a med mixup. If an aging care professional who comes to the home tells you an hour is all that is needed, then I stand corrected.

Sorry I see it was tuna salad not sandwich. If you have a recipe he likes, make sure the person has it with all the groceries needed unless he isn't picky.

Thank you. I get that what I’m looking for might evolve as I do this.

- OP

[Anonymous]

OP, what you want is better than what I am going to suggest, but here's another idea. Get him a pill box that springs open at a certain time everyday. The pharmacy will fill it. You call every single day at the same time - and he takes his pill. Something like that. The meal part, IDK, a grown man should be able to feed himself. If not, that's a 3 meal a day problem, not a once a day problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basically, someone to check on my dad, maybe make tuna salad, maybe look to see that he’s taken a pill.

He’s a little foggy from chemo but pleasant, up with the news, able to function. Just foggy enough to need a little help.

Do I start with Caring.com, TaskRabbit or something else?

This might be the tricky part. In some states, home health aides are not allowed to dispense medication.

https://www.nahc.org/assets/1/7/07HomeHealthAidAdmnMed

My grandmother had live in help and while they can’t dispense the medicine, they absolutely can tell the person they are caring for that it is time for meds, mark down that meds were taken, and encourage them to take them. What they can’t to is make the person take meds if they don’t want to.

Yeah; that’s fine.

To me it seems as if people who are competent to stay at home should get to decide whether to take medicine.

Even if my dad was in a nursing home or assisted living, I’m not thrilled with the idea of making him take medicine, unless I’m sure it’s something that will obviously improved quality of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully this won't be taken the wrong way. You are trying to get as much bang for your buck cramming this all into an hour. When we paid for a half day and then a full day we were happy if the person just provided companionship, made sure meds were taken and made sure our loved one ate. These are poorly paid jobs and you need to factor in downtime. That is what makes it appealing despite the poor pay. If you are willing to pay top dollar for someone to do all you ask in an hour, great. Otherwise I don't think you will find someone willing to be on the entire hour. It is nice to have someone there to chat, etc. If the doctor is recommending cameras this is more than a one hour a day gig.

This does seem like a good reality check. Thank you.

-OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Post on Next door or a neighborhood listserv. When we had a similar situation, we found a SAHM that was willing to take the job. She would walk her child to the bus stop which was near our relative's house, then she would stop in and take care of our relative. She would check the house out, figure out if there were basic chores she could do (change a light bulb, clean a mess in the fridge, load or run the dishwasher) then she would make sure that their meal was prepped for lunch, make sure to remind them of medication and head home. We had it flexible, e.g. not exactly one hour. We often paid her 2-3 hours and I'm sure that some of that was just hanging around, talking to our relative and wasting time, but it was companionship and making sure everything was handled. We weren't worried about the number of hours, just that it was done every day. She probably averaged about 6-8 hours a week and we left it to her to decide how much time was needed.

It was so worth it to be flexible and allow her to charge more time (we noticed that she charged more time near her child's birthday and near the holidays, but we didn't mind subsidizing her holidays). Plus, she and our relative developed a nice friendship that was worthwhile to encourage.

So, my suggestion is to post it and be flexible about paying more to find someone who will be able to do what you want.

This sounds like great advice. The only place I’ve really posted so far (Care.com) seemed rigid about the time description. Guess I need to find a listserv.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, what you want is better than what I am going to suggest, but here's another idea. Get him a pill box that springs open at a certain time everyday. The pharmacy will fill it. You call every single day at the same time - and he takes his pill. Something like that. The meal part, IDK, a grown man should be able to feed himself. If not, that's a 3 meal a day problem, not a once a day problem.

You could be right. It seems as if, when I talk to the sibling who’s really in charge here, the job description keeps changing and tilting more toward, “Msybr it’s time for assisted living.”

- OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what you want is better than what I am going to suggest, but here's another idea. Get him a pill box that springs open at a certain time everyday. The pharmacy will fill it. You call every single day at the same time - and he takes his pill. Something like that. The meal part, IDK, a grown man should be able to feed himself. If not, that's a 3 meal a day problem, not a once a day problem.

You could be right. It seems as if, when I talk to the sibling who’s really in charge here, the job description keeps changing and tilting more toward, “Msybr it’s time for assisted living.”

- OP.

visitingangels.com

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basically, someone to check on my dad, maybe make tuna salad, maybe look to see that he’s taken a pill.

He’s a little foggy from chemo but pleasant, up with the news, able to function. Just foggy enough to need a little help.

Do I start with Caring.com, TaskRabbit or something else?

This might be the tricky part. In some states, home health aides are not allowed to dispense medication.

https://www.nahc.org/assets/1/7/07HomeHealthAidAdmnMed

They can't put it in the pill sorter, but they can make sure he takes or took it.


Honestly, I'd look on his local listserve to see if there is a stay at home mom who might want to do this. No one will drive there for one hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully this won't be taken the wrong way. You are trying to get as much bang for your buck cramming this all into an hour. When we paid for a half day and then a full day we were happy if the person just provided companionship, made sure meds were taken and made sure our loved one ate. These are poorly paid jobs and you need to factor in downtime. That is what makes it appealing despite the poor pay. If you are willing to pay top dollar for someone to do all you ask in an hour, great. Otherwise I don't think you will find someone willing to be on the entire hour. It is nice to have someone there to chat, etc. If the doctor is recommending cameras this is more than a one hour a day gig.

This does seem like a good reality check. Thank you.

-OP

OP I am so impressed with how reasonable you are. Thank you for not jumping down my throat and for actually being polite and kind. The last time I posted something like this based on our experience I got snapped at by the OP and it made me hesitant to post again. I wish you the best of luck. It is all so difficult and things are ever-changing.

[Anonymous]

NP. PP's suggestion of Nextdoor is interesting. My FIL needed help with meals. He went through a few people but then found one that he really liked. She was a huge help at the end. She would come over every evening and make him dinner. She would sit with him and they would talk. If you can afford a couple of hours a day that would be better.

We used caregivers (we needed 24 hours) and we did all the scheduling, not a service, and it was a 3 hour minimum. But by doing it ourselves we paid a lower rate.

Also, it is good to establish relationships with people now because you might need more help later.

[Anonymous]

If in Virginia, there is a new service or program called NaborForce which while the hourly rate is about equal to other agencies, it will start with just a one hour minimum and will also bill in 5 minute segments after an hour. If you sign up for a certain aount of hours per month which can be flexible in time use, then you can get a lower hourly rate. It does seem more like a Companion or General Aide kind of service -- not a medical and not so much one doing any personal care. I believe it is out of Richmond and covering in Central Virginia. The idea of using the local list.serve to even put out your need as you might just connect with another family who would like to hire such a person only for a few hours a week and make it more of a part-time job.

[Anonymous]

OP - Turns out I looked it up on Google afer my post and found it is up in the DC area to some extent -

Check Service Areas - Naborforcehttps://naborforce.com › check-service-areas
It's simple to get the support you need · Our Locations · Atlanta, GA · Bethesda, MD · Charlottesville, VA · Northern Virginia · Richmond, VA · Virginia Beach, VA.