If you are thinking of hiring licensed non-medical home care for your loved one, you should be aware of some changes that have arisen due to the pandemic. My Real-life Story will outline what they are.
Real-life Story
My client is an 84 year-old man. He is still an avid skier, and flies a glider plane. His wife who is only 72 years old is well in the latter stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Although she is ambulatory, she cannot bathe or dress herself. Previously, she had prepared all of the couple’s meals. Since my client doesn’t cook, meal time was a huge challenge. He told me that getting his wife dressed and fed in the morning and putting her in bed at night were the hardest parts of the day for him. Yet, he admitted that he wasn’t ready to place her in a nursing home. But, he also told me that her condition prevented him from getting out to ski or fly his plane. It was taking a toll on him and he was increasingly conflicted and in need of both a listening ear and informed, professional advice.
While it seems that having someone come in for a couple hours in the morning and an hour or two in the evening was the logical answer to his problems, the solution wasn’t that easy. I discovered when calling several of the home care agencies that many of them wanted to contract for a minimum of three or four hours on the days of service. Staffing issues during the pandemic had forced this change, and the agencies also had difficulty splitting shifts. In addition, the agencies did not want to expose clients to multiple caregivers in shorter shifts. One agency was requesting at least a minimum of eight hours. The average cost was $30.00 to $35.00 per hour. One agency was willing to provide less than the four-hour minimum, but the cost was $53.00 per hour.
Since my client wasn’t willing to place his wife at this time, I also presented him with the option of sending his wife to adult day care. The day care center would actually send a bus to pick her up and drop her off in the morning. There would be a nurse on duty to administer medications to all of the participants. She would also receive meals and socialize during the activities. In addition, the participants who were better off cognitively could assist in helping with those who were not. The only issue was that the day care center was closed due to CoVid but would be reopening soon. This option actually would be less expensive than home care or placement in a community.
In the end, my client decided to start with home care on a minimal basis but we were able to arrange to have the same service provide a caregiver for longer hours when he wanted to ski or fly.
Do you need a second opinion? Let Andrea Donovan Senior Living Advisors help. Call us at (708) 415-2934 or email us. Please visit our website. Please watch my video to learn how the process works and learn what some clients have to say.
Andrea Donovan Senior Living Advisors
1497 Shire Circle
Inverness, IL 60067
Phone: 847.934.5303
Cell: 708.415.2934
andrea_donovansla@yahoo.com
www.chicagoseniorlivingadvisors.com