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Savvy Senior Dear Savvy Senior What's the best way to find a good home-care aide to help my elderly mother? Worn Out Dear Worn, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 1.4 million Americans require the help of a paid caregiver each year. But finding good home-care can be a real challenge. Here are some tips that can help. Know Your Needs The first step to take before hiring someone is to determine the level of help your mother will need. If she is ill or needs health care services, there are registered nurses who can manage medical conditions and administer medications. At the next level are nursing aides who have training in first aid and in helping patients bathe, go to the bathroom and transfer from bed to a wheelchair. And for those who don't need skilled assistance, there are companions and homemakers who can handle household chores. Once you settle on a level of care, decide how many hours of assistance she'll need. Does your mom need someone to come in just a few mornings a week to help her cook, clean, run errands or perhaps bathe? If mom needs constant care, you can hire aides to work eight or 12-hour shifts or hire a live-in aide. Finding Home-Care Once you figure out your mother's needs, there are three ways in which you can go about hiring a home-care aide. Through a: • Home health agency: This is the easiest but most expensive option. Certified home health agencies provide and manage all levels of home-care with their trained employees. You pay the agency, and they handle everything including an assessment of your mom's needs, assigning appropriate staff, finding a fillin on days your aide cannot come and more. In many cities, the going rate is around $20 an hour for a certified aide. A registered nurse will likely cost twice as much. Medicare may cover services provided by an approved agency but guidelines are strict and the coverage is limited. To locate and compare agencies visit www. medicare.gov/hhcompare or call 800-633-4227. • Nursing registry: These are private employment agencies that also provide various levels of care. Registries are usually more affordable than home health agencies because you are taking on the responsibility of supervising and managing the aide. You pay the worker directly. The registry will provide backup in the event that the assigned worker is unavailable. Optimally, the agency and its employees should be bonded. To find a registry check your yellow pages under "nurse registries." • Gray market: The least expensive way to find homecare is to hire an aide on your own. You may find one through a friend, newspaper ad or an online service such as www. craigslist.org. The problem with this method is that you become the employer so there's no agency support to fall back on if a problem occurs or if the aide doesn't show up. You are also responsible for negotiating their fee (expect to pay about $10 to $12 an hour), paying payroll taxes and any workerrelated injuries that may happen. If you choose this option make sure you check the aide's references thoroughly, and do a criminal background check.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit www.savvysenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of "The Savvy Senior" book.
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