Can someone recommend a home health care aide to assist with bathing elderly parent in MD?

[Anonymous]

My mother is struggling with caring for my elderly father who is almost completely immobile and suffers from dementia. I would like to have someone go to their home twice a week to manage the bathing.

This is new territory for me and I don't know where to start.. I would prefer hiring an independent contractor, but if someone knows a kind caretaker that works with an agency, that would be helpful.

[Anonymous]

care.com

[Anonymous]

Comfort Keepers

[Anonymous]

Another person recommending Care.com. Also go to the Holy Cross Hospital website.

[Anonymous]

Rather than just care.com which most likely does a lot less checking than an agency, I would suggest contacting the Office of Aging or Senior Center in the are of MD where your folks reside to see if they have a list of home health care agencies, which might be connected to a hospital as suggested. Then they will meet in the office or send out a person to assess you parents' situation as a reputable agency will not send a worker into an unsafe environment. An outside neutral provider may well be able to really help your Mom figure out her needs as well as you Dad's. If they can afford it, then I would encourage her to perhaps seek two blocks of time of maybe 3 -4 hours so that while Dad is being bathed, perhaps given a meal and supervised, she could get out of the house and do things she needs to do and also have time for herself to see friends, to exercise etc. as being a caregiver of a home bound person can be very isolating. If you feel your Mom would be more comfortable, see if you could be there for such a first meeting and assessment and you could fill the agency in on more of their specific needs.

[Anonymous]

I think your local Office on Aging would be a good place to start. They would be able to refer your parents to other services if needed. Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

Your mother should get the Dr. to request Hospice care if your father has dementia/Alzheimer's. My father has Alzheimer's and has been bedriddent for a year and has Hospice aides comes daily to bathe him. The Hospice co. also provides a social worker, nurse 2x week, Dr., volunteers for my mom so she can run errands or go to her own Dr. appts., etc. If he's not already getting SS disability your mom should apply for him to get it. Medicare covers the hospital bed my father is in.

[Anonymous]

++ ask the dr office to request help, or social worker at hospice/hospital - they know how to get it covered by Medicare or insurance and can suggest trained caregivers -

[Anonymous]

DaleCare Companion Services. I used them for my mother and they were fantastic. Small outfit, but better than the chain we had used.

[Anonymous]

Aging Network Services in Bethesda can guide you through the process.