In-Home Caregivers
When care companions may not be enough, or when care partners may need a break or even a little extra assistance, you can hire Home Care Companions known as caregivers to help with activities of daily living, such as shopping, meal prep, and grooming. Some even provide help with personal care like toileting and bathing in the more advanced stages of Parkinson's. While these companions may provide medication reminders, they are not allowed to administer medication or provide medical care. They can also provide light housekeeping, but not full cleaning services typical to most home care needs. If you and your care partner are not able to fully clean the house any longer - you should consider hiring a cleaning service.
If you decide to hire someone to help with care, you'll want to make the decision carefully. You need confidence that the caregiver you choose is going to deliver a high level of care and screening them isn't always easy. One option to help you in your search is to use an in-home care agency. These agencies take care of hiring, training, and performing background checks on individual caregivers. They'll handle things like payroll taxes and scheduling as well so you're free to focus on other aspects of your loved one's care.
Another option is to use your personal network to locate an independent caregiver. If you know someone who's used a senior caregiver in the past and had a good experience, you can ask for a reference. Putting a post on social media may also give you some leads. If you choose this route, be prepared to do background checks on your own. You may also want to provide the caregiver with insurance coverage in the event of a workplace accident or injury. Remember, if you pay the caregiver more than $2,100 per year, you are responsible for reporting taxes as their employer. With an agency, while the hourly rate may be higher, is not necessary.
Some people are now using an online service to locate caregivers, called www.Care.com. This is a subscription-based service for $150 annually to allow you to promote your needs and select from those that apply and post resumes online within your community offering private home care services. While you can find private home caregivers for an hourly rate as low as $10-15 per hour, you can expect to pay approximately twice that much through an agency at $25-30 per hour.
Disclaimer: At PAA, our desire is to be a GO TO Resource for everything you need for the Parkinson's diagnosis to live a quality life with PD. We want to make sure you have all resources you need as you plan your journey with Parkinson's now and into the future so that you can reflect and discern what decisions you want to make with the appropriate insights to help you choose and build a plan that is unique as your journey. The PAA, nor the contents on this website, should never be a replacement for professional expertise and guidance from medical, legal, or financial professionals. Our goal is to equip you for those conversations. As such, the PAA cannot be held accountable for your choices and outcomes while navigating your Parkinson's condition.