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Another advantage to paying a full time person is that they are available in the event that the elder is not feeling well. The senior centers really encourage people to stay home if they have a cold, etc. Also, there are times when the centers are closed for various reasons such as holidays or maintenance.
If it is only transportation to the center that is required, and not care for the remainder of the day, there is transportation from Red Cross, local churches or others who offer services either free or for a very minimal charge.
I don't think you want to hear the answer, but it is: Hire the full time aide who otherwise does a good job and with whom your elder is comfortable/happy. They take the elder to the senior center, help them get situated, go read a book or perhaps run an errand (maybe their own ( a dentist/doctor visit), or maybe one for the elder such as picking up a grocery item or the dry cleaning or whatever), check on the elder, and then get them together for the trip back home. We are talking eight hours a week...maybe. Does the caregiver provide the transportation, or are they taking the elder's car? Maybe the 'extra' eight hours pay ($160 at $20 per hour) helps to defray the transportation cost if they are taking the caregiver's car.
Overall, it is just a cost of having the care. A forty hour week is going to be $800 plus benefits (however they work that out) of which $160 is going to be "gravy" if you wish to call it that. Maybe it can be "allocated" to cover some benefits, but overall you don't want to get involved in a split shift unless it REALLY fits TWO people's schedule, and then it lowers the overall quality of care for the elder by having people coming and going.
Finally...this regime is not forever. Maybe next winter the elder falls--didn't you say they were in a rehab facility or something already, so maybe senior center doesn't even happen--and there is no senior center, but rather a five day a week, eight hour care need. At that age change can happen quickly. Maybe they only feel well enough once a week, or some weeks not at all, to go out--then what happens if the care is coming and going in split shifts?
Private care is costly, and it is hard to find people that are compatible, work out well, and are steady/reliable. If you find someone, as you have indicated you have, go with it and don't worry about the eight hours. The money difference is $8,000 per year at $20/hour. Is it worth all the aggravation for $8,000? It sounds like a lot...until you get into it. Then $8,000 become much less significant.
Hire the best 40 hour per week person you can, and don't sweat the details.
A friend wants to hire a Home Health Care Aide to help keep her 85 year old mother in her own home. The person will mainly be there to keep Mom safe, make sure that she always uses her walker, make the meals, do light housekeeping, drive her places, etc.
My friend wants to hire someone fulltime, 9 AM to 5 PM. The possible problem is that her mom really enjoys going to the senior center. That program is for four hours twice a week (11 to 3) and Mom would need help getting ready to go plus needs a ride to and from and possibly help walking in and out, but not help during the actual time that she is there.
So, what would the HHCA do during those four hours twice a week? A few hours could be spent grocery shopping or running other errands, or doing laundry or a little heavier cleaning but that certainly wouldn't be 8 hours worth of activities.
They really, really like the woman that they want to hire but she does not really want to work a split shift of 9 to 11 and then 3 to 5 for two days due to the driving distance from her house and the lost wages in the middle of the day, although, working six hours those days rather than eight may be OK for her (two hours in the middle of the day for the employee to run her own errands, etc.) or the person may agree to work longer that day. The person is not through an agency so they are able to make their own arrangements.
I really did not know what advice to give to my friend so I thought I would ask advice here.
Basically, what do you do if you want to hire a full time person but the person being cared for does not need the help for four hours twice a week? Although, we did not discuss finances I suspect that my friend, her brother and their mother do not have loads of money but paying or not paying for that 8 hours will not "break the bank", they are more concerned about what is "standard practice" in that situation and keeping the new HHCA happy. (Mom just loves the person that they decided to hire).
Suggestions?
The Senior Center is free right? If so, how can there be lost wages for the caregiver? She should be paid as she normally is, paid time off if needed. Who cares what she does while she is not with the lady? as long as the Caregiver is paid her usual pay plus some extra money for gas and wear and tear, I doubt she'll mind driving her to the Senior Center. Or having extra free time during those days.
The government set the rate at .54 cents per mile as reimbursement
Just make sure she looses no money at all and if need be, pay her fair wages of 54 cents per mile if she uses her car to drive the lady to the senior center.
Those few hours a week this caregiver can be there if this lady needs something. She won't be duty free the whole time.
Things come up.
And if the caregiver has a little extra time, it will make up for lunches and breaks she more than likely will not get all the other days of working.
I know first hand of working shifts as one to one care giving and you get no duty free breaks or lunches.
I always have wondered why as a whole that is not addressed in this field and industry. Breaks are well deserved and needed. It is a very demanding job.
But, if there is some down time somewhere the caregiver is questioned why they are not working.
Thank you for all of responses. The caregiver started this week and what the woman and her family decided was that they will pay the caregiver for the full 8 hours on senior center days. That way the caregiver can help get the woman settled and then go back to her place and do extra cleaning, laundry , grocery shopping, etc. while being available and can return if their Mom wants to leave early or needs extra help or if Mom decides not to go to the senior center some of the days.
The first day at the senior center the woman asked to the caregiver to not take her until noon (as she felt that she would be too worn out from attending all four hours) and she had the caregiver stay with her until she had finished eating lunch and moved to the other area of the room to play cards (she has a lot of difficulty walking even using a walker) . She also asked her to return early in case she was too tired.
The woman was happy , her family was happy and caregiver was happy (with the schedule).
Win, Win, Win.
Last edited by germaine2626; 07-02-2015 at 05:55 PM..
Good. I was hoping that's what they'd do. Just easier all the way around.
Have they worked out what they'll do if the caregiver can't come one day?
Do they have a backup person or will one of the adults kids take off from work?
Just how much CAN mom be left alone?
Also IF it's a case where mom can get stronger a recover, maybe she might need less help, as she recuperates.
Good. I was hoping that's what they'd do. Just easier all the way around.
Have they worked out what they'll do if the caregiver can't come one day?
Do they have a backup person or will one of the adults kids take off from work?
Just how much CAN mom be left alone?
Also IF it's a case where mom can get stronger a recover, maybe she might need less help, as she recuperates.
Just thought I'd ask. I wish them well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by germaine2626
A friend wants to hire a Home Health Care Aide to help keep her 85 year old mother in her own home. The person will mainly be there to keep Mom safe, make sure that she always uses her walker, make the meals, do light housekeeping, drive her places, etc.
Although, I really don't know the mother very well (barely at all), I'm pretty sure that she can stay alone for a day here and there. She is alone everyday from 5 PM until 9 AM and on weekends (except for brief bedtime visits by her daughter & maybe a meal or two on weekends). She can get dressed by herself, use the bathroom independently and do a little basic cooking.
I think that they mainly wanted to hire someone because Mom was a lot weaker after her last fall/mini stroke/whatever and they wanted someone to do all the little stuff around the house that was tiring for her (making the bed, getting snacks, making meals, encouraging her to drink more water, doing dishes), plus be a driver and a companion.
The HHCA is or will also take over some of the things that the daughter had been doing such as the laundry, showers, organizing the medicines, taking out the garbage, cleaning the bathrooms, grocery shopping. The daughter is in her mid 60s and is still working full time at a physically demanding job, so all of the extra work was starting to wear on her too.
First doing care giving is hard and if you have a person who fits try to keep that person.
Visting a senior center is positive and the senior enjoys it. the care giver than might try to do chores around the home. then the other day go shop for meals etc to prepare so there is more one one time. also if records are kept if ever she needs more care that would be a positive,
Last edited by maggiekate; 07-05-2015 at 11:19 AM..
Thank you for all of responses. The caregiver started this week and what the woman and her family decided was that they will pay the caregiver for the full 8 hours on senior center days. That way the caregiver can help get the woman settled and then go back to her place and do extra cleaning, laundry , grocery shopping, etc. while being available and can return if their Mom wants to leave early or needs extra help or if Mom decides not to go to the senior center some of the days.
The first day at the senior center the woman asked to the caregiver to not take her until noon (as she felt that she would be too worn out from attending all four hours) and she had the caregiver stay with her until she had finished eating lunch and moved to the other area of the room to play cards (she has a lot of difficulty walking even using a walker) . She also asked her to return early in case she was too tired.
The woman was happy , her family was happy and caregiver was happy (with the schedule).
Win, Win, Win.
good it worked for all and Mom needs to be Happy, and be free to do as she likes with her friends
You pay them for the whole time the same way you pay a babysitter even if the kids are asleep. If the person really isn't needed at the center, they can run errands if there are any. Otherwise, the time is theirs. Be cognizant of the distance between the home and the center. It may not make sense for the care worker to take her to the center, go back home to clean or even deliver the groceries then return to the center.
Sure, you are paying someone "not" to work. But, just like with a napping child, you are paying for the person to be on call in case they need to work. What if there are days mom doesn't want to go to the center - maybe she's sick or tired? The care worker will be there. What if she starts feeling unwell at the center? The care worker can come back and pick her up. If you do the split care idea, there is no coverage at all for those hours if something happens.
Paying for a few hours each week where the care worker might have some free time is a small price to pay for a dedicated, competent, well-liked care worker.
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, her family was happy 
