Choosing Your Caregiver
July 24, 2008
Choosing the “right” caregiver can be the “icing on top of the cake.” The cake may be great, but what a joy to have the icing! At CHS we spend time with the family and/or client asking questions, getting to know them, and, then, select the best person we have for that assignment. We ensure the client and the client’s family that they are guaranteed 100% customer satisfaction with their assigned caregiver. At any time, no questions asked, the client or client’s family can request a different caregiver. Of course, we encourage communication with the agency if the caregiver has done anything wrong. But, in cases of personality, or “it just doesn’t work”, a call to the supervisor is all the client needs to do to continue the search for the right caregiver.
When a client is first doing an assessment to sign up for services, it is important that they help the supervisor find the right person for the job! Some things to consider when selecting a caretaker either privately or with an agency are the following:
- Do you like a quiet or talkative person?
- Do you want a young person or older?
- Does strength and size matter as it pertains to the tasks you need done?
- Do they need to love pets? Tolerate pets?
- Do you need someone that smoking doesn’t bother?
- Do you want someone with a specific interest?
- Do they need to be a certified nurse assistant to better serve you?
- Do you want someone to read to you or do a certain activity with you?
- Do you need a driver? What sort of car will work?
- What characteristic of your caregiver is the most important to you?
Thinking through these questions will help the client and the client’s family discuss caretaker possibilities with their supervisor during the first assessment. Hopefully, that way, services will begin with the right caretaker for the assignment. The first two weeks should be used to “settle in” with the caregiver. A call to the supervisor should be made if improvements, changes in methods, or training “to do it your way” is needed. Or, if the first caregiver has not worked out, the client and client’s family can talk to the supervisor, and with the knowledge gained, make a better selection. Sometimes it requires “trying a few” to find the right long-term “fit” for a specific person.
Champion Homecare Solutions believes that spending the extra time at the beginning to help the client get the right caretaker will make a huge difference. We are committed to spending the time with our clients to make this happen.
It is our policy to assign permanent caregivers to all clients. The only exception is one hour clients, PRN, or flexible schedules that cannot be scheduled with one person. Then, we use a rotating process to minimize the number of people in the home. We, also, consider if having more than one caregiver is better for the client. For example, we have had very active business people who have needed short term care. They have preferred having several caregivers, instead of just one, because they enjoyed the diversity of conversations.
Choosing your caregiver will always be a joint effort of the client, the client’s family, our supervisor, and the “team of support” at CHS. Together we can be Champions!
