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RESOURCES
Is your
elderly loved one having difficulty cleaning her
apartment or taking a bath? Does he need assistance with
errands or shopping? Showing signs of forgetfulness such as
forgetting to pay bills on time or go to doctor appointments?
Home care services encompass a wide variety of
professionals and services.
If your elderly loved one simply needs assistance
with cleaning, you may
want to simply consider hiring a reputable maid
service. However, if those
needs include assistance with activities of daily
living, such as cooking,
cleaning, shopping, errands, and personal care, you
might want to consider
hiring a home attendant or home health aide.
Terms: Home Attendant Vs. Home Health Aide
What's the difference?
There are two main types of home care workers: home
attendants and
home health aides. Both of them provide assistance
with activities of daily
living: bathing, cooking, light cleaning, errands
and shopping. However, a
home health aide, has additional training for more
medically difficult patients.
Both are trained and certified by New York State
Department of Health;
home attendants receive 40 hours of training and
home health aides
receives 75 hours of training, including supervision
in a home setting with a
patient. To view an outline of the training
materials required for
home
attendants.
Click here for
home health aides.
Private Hire
You
have the option of hiring privately through your own
personal network
of
friends, colleagues, or relatives. Many families
choose this route, trusting
people they know. You also have the option of hiring
someone through
word of mouth, who may or may not be certified as a
home attendant or
home health aide. Although the cost of hiring an
uncertified home care
worker, remember that he or she is not trained.
There are skills that a
home care worker receives in how to transfer a
patient, for example, or
how
to assist with ambulation or break a fall that could
lead to a
preventable injury or hospitalization. Also
remember, that if you are hiring a
home care worker privately, that you should have a
back-up person in case
of
an emergency, personal holiday or vacation, family
crisis, and etc.
Hiring Through an Agency
Others hire home care workers through agencies, who
provide certified
home attendants and home health aides. The benefits
of using an agency
are 1) they provide certified home care workers who
have completed a
certain number of training hours, 2) they deal with
scheduling issues, such
as worker vacations, sick days, salary, and etc, and
3) they can deal with
issues such as finding the right home care worker
for your elderly loved
one; they have the staffing and resources to help
you find the right home
care worker, whether it be a Spanish speaking home
attendant or someone
who has a better rapport with your loved one.
There are many home care agencies throughout the
five boroughs of New
York City. Don't be fooled, however, they are not
all equal. Prices and
services vary by agency, so do your homework and try
to get a personal
referral. In 2006, according to the New York State
Department of Health,
the cost of an average home care worker was $22/hr.
For help finding a
home care worker please see
http://www.nyshcp.org/
Personality Conflicts
This may sound obvious, but you have to prepare
yourself for bumps along
the road to getting to know a new home care worker.
Give the relationship
some time and try to communicate with both the
worker and the
coordinator from the agency. Know the
responsibilities and job limitations
of a home care worker. This will make things easier
for both of you in the
long run. Unfortunately, I have seen many problems
arise when caregivers
have expectations that are either too high or too
low of what their home
care worker should be doing.
Please remember that a home attendant or home health
aide hired from an
agency is not a personal maid. He or she is not
required to provide deep
cleaning. There are services available for deep
cleaning and maid services if
this is what you want. If you have a question about
the types of
responsibilities that he or she should be doing,
please don't hesitate to call
the agency and speak with your coordinator.
As
a caregiver, the best thing for you to do is to
remain involved. Be in the
home, as much as possible. Communicate with the home
care worker and
coordinator from the agency. Treat your home care
worker with respect
and
praise the positive. Recognize that caring for your
loved one is a difficult
task and try to work as a team with your worker. On
the same note, keep
your eyes open to any signs of abuse, stealing, or
any other inappropriate
behaviors. These behaviors should be dealt with
immediately with the
agency coordinator. As in all professions, there are
good home care
workers and not so good ones.
Home Care Agencies
The following is a list of home care agencies in New
York City.
HAPI A licensed home care agency of The
Jewish Home and Hospital.
HAPI
provides trained and supervised health care
personnel such as personal care
aides and home health aides.
Partners
in Care of The Visiting Nurse Service provides a
wide range of personal
and medical
home health care services. Their programs include
in-home health
care and
companionship to private duty nursing services.
Isabella Home Care
Fedcap
Safety
Safety in the home is one of the most important
factors in preventing an
unnecessary fall. According to the 1997 and 1998
National Health Interview
Survey, 55% of fall injuries among the elderly
people occurred in their
homes. Fall injuries can be devastating for an
elderly person and lead to hip
fractures, decreased mobility or even death.
Ensuring that the home
environment is safe, is an easy and inexpensive
precaution that could
prevent unnecessary falls. For more information,
including check lists of
how to prevent falls please see
http://www.stopfalls.org/individuals_families/if_em.shtml
or
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/preventadultfalls.htm
Assisted Living Facilities
An assisted living facility is a home for the
elderly that provides minimal
assistance such as meals, light house keeping,
laundry, and other services.
These
facilities are most often private pay and may have
strict rules about the
health
of the residents they admit. Sometimes they require
that residents are
ambulating independently or that they do not have
any severe memory
problems. Each facility is different and monthly
rates vary. I recommend taking
a
tour of different facilities to determine which one
is the right match for you or
your loved one.
The Hearthstone at the Esplanade is an assisted
living floor for those who suffer
from dementia. Programming and care is catered for
the individual needs of
those who suffer from dementia.
Nursing Homes
Health Insurance
Medicaid
New
York State Medicaid Information:
http://www.health.state.ny.us/health_care/medicaid/
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