Hiring Private Duty Home Care Workers: Why Work through an Agency
Quoted:
One of the greatest long-term needs of older adults and those with
chronic illnesses is for in-home, custodial care services. These
workers are often referred to as home health aides, certified nursing
assistants and custodial care workers. These in-home workers make it
possible for people with functional limitations to remain at home in a
comfortable, familiar environment. Home health aides (as we will refer
to this class of workers) provide a wide range of assistance with
activities of daily living (ADLs), such as bathing, dressing, grooming,
assisting with ambulation or transferring, toileting, feeding and
providing medication reminders. In addition, home health aides help
with what professionals call, instrumental activities of daily living
(IADLs), such as shopping, meal preparation, making medical
appointments, transportation, laundry and companionship.
While it is true that most people would prefer to remain in their
own homes, there are circumstances in which care in a residential or
nursing facility is more appropriate and more cost-effective. For
example, the individual who needs round the clock care because of
treatments or behavioral issues will find a nursing facility or
residential setting likely to be more affordable.
The biggest proportion of people who utilize home health aide services are those
who need several hours per day of assistance, as opposed to those who need full-time care.
Due to the cost and the increasing shortage of home health
aides, many families seeking to hire in-home staff turn to private
individuals rather than working through an agency. While at first
glance this seems reasonable, it can also cause numerous problems and create unexpected liabilities for the family, who becomes the employer.
