Where to find hourly caregivers

MHwang

My dad is in a residential care home where he is one of two residents with a live-in round-the-clock caregiver. It's getting very difficult for him to continue to walk and even get up to the chair, I would like to continue to do that as long as possible. Unfortunately it requires two people to get him out of the bed and there's only one caregiver at any one time living with him. So I've been trying to go every day to be the second person to get him up at least once a day, but I'm getting burned out and I can't continue doing that. I have two preschoolers at home, and I'm starting to neglect them in order to go help my dad. So I'm trying to hire someone to go at least 3 days a week to spend an hour to help get him up walking or at least to the chair and back to bed. I have searched in vain for a private pay physical therapist. I have considered putting him on hospice so that I can get a hospice caregiver to help, but I'm not sure if that's really within the services that they offer, and I'm not sure if I'm ready to discontinue other Therapy Services that he's getting in order to qualify for hospice.. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to find someone to help with my dad for an hour day? I'm familiar with caregiver agencies like Visiting Angels. Is that the only option? 

Thank you!

MHwang 

Wonderer

I don't have any advice for you but just felt the need to send some positive energy your way. It sounds like a lot is going on for you and your dad. I hope you find a solution that works!

SeekingSerenity

I'm also looking for hourly rate help here at home. I made a flyer and took it to our local community college with nursing / CNA programs thinking that someone getting into the field might be willing to help for extra $$ and experience with elders. Mom is 88 with dementia and her boyfriend (97) is legally blind. We recently brought them home from AL because at $10k / month the money was going down fast. Sadly no one responded to the flyer. Maybe you would have better luck in your area. We all know how cost prohibitive it is to go to an agency when they want a 4-hour daily minimum. Another option may be to put out a request on NextDoor if it is set up in your area. That may be my next direction. Good luck with your search.

Rescue mom

Hospice, IME in 2 states, does not provide that kind of care. They will have medical professionals come in and check—and may provide PT is need is determined—but for regular daily care of a few hours, that you or aides provide, they don’t. OTOH, I don’t recall having to “give up” any other services to get the Hospice(s) involved. 

I’m not totally clear on your circumstances or need, but does he *really* need a physical therapist to get him out of bed, dressed and ready for the day? Or is more that involved?  Most don’t need a PT pro for that.  oTOH, you can get at-home PT under Medicare, under certain circumstances, I think with doctor orders. But it also seems like a place with 2 residents should be able to handle that themselves. 

In general, from what I can tell from what you’ve said, you need someone for basic daily ( or every so often) care. Like from a caregiver agency as you mentioned, or hire some private person yourself through something like Care.com or word of mouth, including Next Door. Many facilities know of people who will work as caregivers, but finding one to come in for just an hour on different days is really, really hard. (I’ve tried for years, literally, except for COVID shutdown). It’s like it’s not worth their time, given the travel, scheduling, etc. Agencies have done background checks, at least. Anyone private, it’s up to you to screen. 

Sounds like you absolutely need help. The problem, as for so many of us, is finding an affordable and capable caregiver. 

Fairyland

I can’t imagine having a residential care home that you have to hire two additional carers for the resident to be able to get up from their bed? I thought that was part of the normal job of the carehome? Sorry for my ignorance.

King Boo

My LO had maintenance PT/OT therapy at times when he was on hospice for the last 6 months.

towhee

MHwang, Hi. Only two residents? That is a small care home. Your LO must get a lot of personal attention. I understand what you are talking about, your LO has gone from a one person assist to a two person assist and you are trying to stretch the time he can spend at this level of care. There are a couple of things you can try, but you might run into problems with state regulations or the care homes' rules and liability issues. It makes it more difficult that you want someone to do a very physical task. Make sure this will be ok with the care home before you hire someone.

First, look for a small private care agency, not one of the franchised national ones. Sometimes their number of minimum hours is less. Try to schedule the time right before or after regular shift change for ALs, nursing homes and hospitals, morning shift is usually 7am to 3pm. Some CNAs don't mind picking up an extra hour or so when they are already working that day. It will probably be hit or miss and you might end up being backup. 

Next possibility is equipment. Does your LO have a hospital bed? These can be raised to a height that makes it easier to work with your LO and easier for him to stand. Medicare rarely pays for these anymore outside of hospice, but you can try. Ask your doctor to prescribe an occupational or physical therapist to evaluate their need for equipment. See if that therapist can show you any way that is easier to get your LO up. Depending on your state rules for care homes and the care homes willingness you could also ask about a sit to stand lift. The manual ones start at under a thousand dollars and are operated by one person so you would not need extra help. Check out Sarastedy and Lumex brands.

Eventually you probably will need a nursing home, but I hope this helps.

Cobalt

Hospice in Arizona will not provide people to come into the home to sit with them or do any activities with them.  They can provide a nurse to come once or twice a week to take care of ordering, organizing and managing meds.

I've tried off and on for several years to hire a young person to come in once a week to spend a little time with my son who has EO, just for socialization.  Several close calls, but no cigar.  I know that the caregiver agency who sends his caregivers told me that they doubted we will be able to get any additional caregivers or replacement caregivers is needed.  The manager says there are just never any responses to ads the agency places.  In our area, people just don't want to work for the low pay and no benefits.  I get that.  And most people seem to want full time hours, not the part-time hours which are in high demand.  We're just darn "lucky" my son was already a client of DDD, so the state pays for the hourly caregivers.

I just can't think of a way families can easily find and hire and train occasional caregivers in the family home.  I'll be watching this topic just in case anyone comes up with ideas that may work!  I've known 5 caregivers we have had in the past that also had private pay clients.  But they all charged $18 to $25 an hour for their private pay clients.  A heckuva lot different than the $12-13 an hour this state and this agency pay.  Those caregivers who had private clients were constantly getting calls to accept new clients, especially those in family homes.  There are just not that many people who want to do this challenging work.

MHwang

Thank you so much to everyone who responded! It was so helpful to learn that physical therapy can coincide with hospice. I think that this information along with the hospice aides will be enough extra help for now. I hope all of you find the help you need for your loved ones.

Iris L.

What about a Hoyer Lift?  I don't know if that's allowed in a care home.

Iris