Learn more about how you can help your loved ones with in home care.
Many seniors across the country desire to age in place in their own homes. Some seniors develop certain health conditions that make it difficult to live at home alone. Sometimes the senior’s adult children or another family member become responsible for their care at some point. If the senior begins to need more assistance with their activities of daily living, the senior or their loved ones might begin to think about hiring a caregiver.
Coming to the decision that the senior will need more care is difficult enough. It can be challenging for seniors or their family members to choose whether to use the care services offered by senior care agencies or to hire caregivers direct by finding a suitable private home care aide instead.
Families might have differing ideas regarding what they expect from their hired caregivers. This means that everyone’s home health definition might be very different when compared to others. Typically, the general home health definition refers to health/medical care provided in a home setting.
There are levels of healthcare positions such as professional nursing care by registered nurses, certified nursing assistants or aides able to perform basic activities of daily living assistance and personal home companions sometimes found through employ agent websites.
There are some good reasons why many individuals choose an in-home care agency vs directly hiring a caregiver. Below are some essential pros and cons to each scenario that anyone faced with this important decision should carefully consider.
Hiring Through a Home Health Agency
There are a number of huge benefits that hiring someone to perform home care through an accredited home health agency can bring.
Pros:
- Larger Qualified Employee Pool
- Agencies Typically Handle All Background Screenings, References Checks, Payroll Paperwork & Tax Requirements
- Many Home Care Agencies Provide Employee Training, Certification Requirements &
- Agencies Are Able to Provide Backup Caregivers if Your Regular Home Caregiver Calls Off Work or Takes a Vacation
- Some Home Care Agencies Handle Any Legal Matters & Insurances like Theft, Bonding & More
Cons:
- Costs – While Home Care Agencies Provide Great Services, the Price is Higher
& Most Families Feel It’s Worth It - Time Minimum Requirements – Most Agencies Require at Least 4 Hour Shifts
- Private Individuals Don’t Have Some Employee Information that Employers Can Access
Hiring a Private Caregiver
Some families decide to pursue hiring a private caregiver for a number of reasons. This might be a good fit, but individuals need to understand all of the care choices and necessary effort to make an informed decision.
Pros:
- Flexibility of Hours Worked Might Be Better
- Costs Can Seem Lower at First
- Greater Control of Who is Hired, Schedule Requirements & Job Duties
Cons:
- Responsible for Finding & Hiring Selected Caregiver Positions
- Family Also Responsible for Background Checks, Tax Requirements, Payroll &
Other Time Consuming Details - Difficult to Coordinate Care Schedules
- Hard to Find Suitable Backup Care When Regular Caregiver is Sick or Taking a Vacation
Different Types of Care for Your Senior
Before trying to hire a caregiver, it is crucial to determine exactly what type of care is needed or desired for your senior.
Some families might only need someone to sit with their relative like a companion or personal care assistant. These individuals likely won’t have the required training that certified nursing assistants have.
Another thing to consider is the number of hours that the caregiver will be responsible to work. Hiring someone to be a personal companion might be able to run errands, do grocery shopping and take your relative to medical appointments. If the care recipient has mobility problems, a caregiver that has the training to perform basic personal care like bathing, dressing, eating and other duties might be more appropriate.
Some families prefer to hire live in help for their senior family member. This might be a good choice for families that just need someone there overnight for safety assurances. Other families are looking for that perfect one on one caregiver option.
It is smart to compose a list of what you are seeking when looking to employ agent care providers.
Costs: Agency Caregivers vs Independently Hired Private Home Care
There are some differences to think about when determining whether it is better to hire agency caregivers vs independently hired private home care providers. An agency vs company caregiver job search sites differ in costs. While a caregiver agency appears to be more costly, these agencies do take care of time consuming tasks like payroll details, insurance requirements, tax paperwork and more.
A well-respected caregiver agency vs company type platforms that lists potential job candidates can cut down on a huge amount of time consuming work that most family caregivers never consider at first. While it is conceivable that hiring someone privately could save on costs, it is important to figure in all of the costs, efforts and time put in for an accurate determination of what is best for your specific family care needs.
Handling Required Taxes
Private citizens in the past have gotten around paying employer tax for caregivers working alone by designating them as independent contractors. However, the laws have changed, and private caregivers must have the appropriate taxes taken out of their pay. There are tax benefits for the private citizen that employs a home caregiver not associated with an agency that can offset some of these expenses.
Is the Quality of Care Better with a Caregiver Agency or a Private Caregiver?
To determine if the quality of care is better with a caregiver agency rather than a caregiver hired privately, the individual should have a clear understanding of the prospective caregiver’s skills, training, background and other important information. Then, the individual should be sure to list specific job duties that the caregiver will be responsible for doing.
When seniors and/or their family members seek to hire professional home care providers, they should remember that caregiver companies and agencies already screen their employees beforehand. These pro home health providers take on the tasks associated with hiring, investigating and sometimes training all new hires.
Private citizens can rely on these pro home health agencies to ascertain credible employees that pass their higher expectations of impressive and better quality of care hire requirements.
Do I Need Theft Insurance if I Hire Caregiver Help?
Most caregiver companies provide theft insurance for all of their hired caregivers. If a family is searching for a private hire caregiver, they will likely be responsible for having this type of theft insurance in case anything questionable happens down the road.
What About Backup Care if Caregiver Calls Off Work?
The nice thing about utilizing the services of professional home care agencies is that there will be a backup caregiver replacement if the regular one on one caregiver calls off work for any reason. This can be a huge relief to the families. Those that hire live in help or find their caregivers direct will have the added burden of arranging for backup care themselves.
Families that use the convenient services offered by local senior care agencies can be more confident that their loved one is in competent hands. Learn more by viewing https://www.inhomecare.com.
