There may come a time when your loved one(s) will begin to be unable to live completely alone. This is a hard time for any family, and takes some solidarity from everyone involved to come together and make the best decision. The decision-making process can be overwhelming, due to the gravity that the options come with. For example, considering placing your mother in a nursing home can be scary. But, leaving her alone in her house will have you constantly worrying if she is okay. There are other options that don’t totally uproot her life and everything she knows, but still have her getting the care and attention she needs.
In-home care allows your loved one to remain comfortable in the home he loves, but doesn’t leave him alone to fend for himself or herself. Dale Anderson is the president of Right At Home (RAH), an in-home care and assistance agency in Tacoma, Washington. He understands the sensitive and dedicated care that families need at this time, and makes it a mission of his agency to carefully train professional caregivers to provide the kind of service families deserve.
There are different kinds of in-home services, which meet the range of needs a person may have. A person may only need assistance for a few hours a day, maybe help running errands if he has trouble getting around outside the home. Another person may need assistance handling a specific disease, such as diabetes. In that case, the caregiver would have expertise making diabetic meals and giving certain medications. Yet another person may need 24-hour care, especially in progressed cases of Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Agencies like RAH offer all these services, employing and training a range of qualified professionals for each level of care. An agency like this specializes in training and certifying its caregivers to make sure that they can handle all situations. They would also provide you with great flexibility.
For example, let’s say your father has lost a great deal of his vision, so he cannot drive anymore. Otherwise, though, he is fine to take care of himself. RAH could send a caregiver to him three times a week for, say, four hours a day to run errands like grocery shopping and banking – things your father would need to drive in order to do. As time goes on, his health may deteriorate, he may, unfortunately, develop a condition. Now, he needs care everyday, for at least six hours to help with errands, personal care, or medications. He may even need someone who is trained to give care for specific ailments or conditions. You don’t want to have to switch agencies at this stage to get a more advanced level of care. But, an agency like RAH can work with you and switch you to different caregiver.
Levels of Care Available to Your Loved One
- Certified Nursing Assistant: These multi-service agencies employ several levels of professionals to cover the different types of care. The most basic caregiver is the CNA, or certified nursing assistant. These CNAs are extensively trained to give personal care. They offer the more basic kind of care, such as household work, cooking, cleaning, or hygiene assistance, as well as providing companionship. While the majority of that type of work is not medical, they need to be trained in cases of emergency or need. They may simply perform housework for months, but one day your loved one may feel ill, fall, whatever the case may be – and the CNA will be completely prepared. RAH understands the importance of having a caregiver who is medically trained.
- Licensed Practical Nurse: The next level of caregivers are LPNs, or licensed practical nurses. LPNs can care for those who need attention of a more medical nature. They can give medical care, but under the direction of a registered nurse (RN) of physician. An LPN would be the best fit for someone who does not have a specific disease, but who may be a bit weaker, needs to take different medications, and may need help getting around safely. Think of LPNs as a “medium” level of care: They can offer the more basic services of a CNA, like companionship and hygiene assistance, but they are also trained in many of the medical procedures that an RN is trained in.
- Registered Nurse: The most advanced caregiver is the RN, or registered nurse. An RN is certified to be a nurse in a hospital, under his or her own direction, so you can be confident in an RN’s ability and expertise in the home of your loved one. While an RN will also offer companionship and personal care, the focus of this level of care is the medical ability. An RN can handle any types of conditions or diseases your loved one may have, so they are the best choice in advanced cases of Alzheimer’s, diabetes, Parkinson’s, etc. They are fully equipped with expertise in times of emergency. An RN is the type of caregiver best suited for instances of 24-hour care, since these cases are usually more advanced and need more medical supervision.
RAH employs these professionals who are trained and certified, and the agency even trains them further to be certified by its own experts. That way, RAH knows each caregiver is the best caregiver, fully prepared to offer expert care and dedicated attention. An agency like RAH has care for whatever needs your loved one may have.
