4 Things Your Caregiver Needs To Know

When you are moving into a board and care home or an assisted living facility, this is a huge adjustment. Likewise, hiring in-home care also brings about many changes to your daily life. While the extra help certainly will be welcome and make life easier, the transition can be tricky. You can make the process easier by communicating a few key points to your new caregivers.

1. Tell Them What You Need

Every person has different needs, so it is important to provide your new caregiver with a list of tasks that you need accomplished. This might include daily grooming chores, toileting, preparing meals and medication management. If you are hiring an in-home caregiver, you also might need help with running errands or chores around the house. In assisted living and board and care homes, many of these tasks are simply included in the monthly fees, but in-home care varies, so be upfront about what you need. Be sure they know about your health issues, large and small. The more people know, the better the level of care they can provide.

2. Medication Management

Provide your new caregiver with a list of all of your current medications and when and how these need to be taken. It is best to write it all down and provide written instructions. Be sure to provide updates whenever your physicians change your medications or the dosages.

3. Talk About Meals

If your caregiver will be preparing meals, be sure to provide plenty of information about the foods you like and dislike as well as your nutritional needs. Perhaps you are diabetic or have allergies and cannot eat certain foods. It is important to talk with the caregiver or the staff at an assisted living home about nutrition. If you are the friend or child of an older adult, ask the caregiver to inform you if he or she sees any changes in eating habits. Often a lack of appetite or not drinking enough fluids can be signs of illness or depression.

4. Provide A List Of Contacts

It is important that caregivers know whom to call in case of emergency, but sometimes a caregiver might just want to discuss a concern or ask a question. Be sure to provide a list of friends or family who can address various issues. Also, it is wise to mention if there are certain people that you would rather not see or perhaps there are certain times of day when you don’t wish to entertain guests.

Finding a caregiver or an assisted living facility or board and care home can be quite difficult and even frustrating. At Care Placement, we try to make the process as simple as possible, providing you with a list of carefully screened facilities that truly match your unique needs. So whether you are seeking a facility for assisted living in Escondido or a Dana Point board and care home or in-home care throughout Orange and San Diego counties, we can help with these decisions.

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