Post by troyhather on Sept 20, 2017 2:56:14 GMT -5
Consider Avoiding an Agency
Because of the limitations of the home care agency model, many people prefer to avoid agencies and find a home care aide on their own. The reward of this approach can be high – in that you have a greater opportunity to choose someone who may, in fact, be very special and a great match for your parent — but the challenges are high too.
This option requires you to find the person without the benefit of an agency and to handle all the screening and scheduling yourself. In short, you have to be the employer with all that entails, and there’s no backstop on training or quality.
There are also internet-based companies that create marketplaces online with varying degrees of management and oversight. For example, Care.com allows you and prospective caregivers to meet online and then provides follow-up background checks and eventual bill payment.
If you live in the West or Southwest, check out Carelinx and Honor and let me know what you think. It appears they’re taking steps to pay aides more. Also, I like that Honor will create a care plan and provide care managers. And, Honor and Carelinx seem to be doing a good job of balancing the need for in-person communication and digital communication (something that traditional agencies are struggling with).
For the more routine tasks like driving, groceries, and home upkeep, consider using services that aren’t necessarily geared towards older adults — like internet grocery delivery, online transportation services (like Uber), unconventional service providers like TaskRabbit or Amazon Home Services. A friend of mine told me that his grandmother has a great relationship with an Uber driver in her community that’s worked out really well for them.
Because of the limitations of the home care agency model, many people prefer to avoid agencies and find a home care aide on their own. The reward of this approach can be high – in that you have a greater opportunity to choose someone who may, in fact, be very special and a great match for your parent — but the challenges are high too.
This option requires you to find the person without the benefit of an agency and to handle all the screening and scheduling yourself. In short, you have to be the employer with all that entails, and there’s no backstop on training or quality.
There are also internet-based companies that create marketplaces online with varying degrees of management and oversight. For example, Care.com allows you and prospective caregivers to meet online and then provides follow-up background checks and eventual bill payment.
If you live in the West or Southwest, check out Carelinx and Honor and let me know what you think. It appears they’re taking steps to pay aides more. Also, I like that Honor will create a care plan and provide care managers. And, Honor and Carelinx seem to be doing a good job of balancing the need for in-person communication and digital communication (something that traditional agencies are struggling with).
For the more routine tasks like driving, groceries, and home upkeep, consider using services that aren’t necessarily geared towards older adults — like internet grocery delivery, online transportation services (like Uber), unconventional service providers like TaskRabbit or Amazon Home Services. A friend of mine told me that his grandmother has a great relationship with an Uber driver in her community that’s worked out really well for them.
