4 Steps for Choosing a Home Care Provider for Aging Parents

To help you feel confident about your choice and to help Mom and Dad feel comfortable with their home care provider, follow these tips to guide you in your home care provider selection process.

Identify Level of Care Needed

Before you can feel confident about the home care provider that you hire, you first must fully comprehend the level of assistance and care that Mom and Dad require. Whether it’s meal preparation, mobility, bathing, or simple companionship, you must know exactly what is needed. From there you can create a thorough list so that you can ensure each person you interview can provide the care that is needed.

Hire Someone Who Cares

Introducing a stranger into your parent’s home can be a very stressful experience, especially during the initial phase while they are getting used to their caregiver. But in order to ease the tension and make Mom and Dad feel comfortable, it’s important to hire an individual who is caring. When you interview potential candidates, try to get to know more about their background and why they chose to get into this field of work. Those with the right intentions who seek to help others and ease suffering, are the type of people you want to care for your parent.

Must Provide Meal Prep

Meal preparation is usually a must when choosing a home care provider for aging parents. Aside from the difficulty of buying groceries and cooking a meal, it’s important that our aging parents receive the proper diet that they require, according to their health requirements and of course, obtaining the nutritional value that is necessary as they get older. Having home care that can take care of meals each day is always a priority to keep in mind.

Must Provide Stimulus

In addition to meal prep, stimulus is imperative to keep your parent’s body and mind active and engaged. So be sure that whomever you select can spend time engaging with your parent through conversation, games, or even daily walks.

Introducing a stranger into your parent’s daily life to spend time and take care of them can be a scary experience for them to endure. That’s why the finding a great home care provider is so important. Use these tips to help guide you in selecting the best person for Mom and Dad.

–       Stephen Bleeker