Many more senior citizens are choosing to age in their homes than in previous generations and they need some level of in home care to make this possible. Whether you or your loved one needs a few hours of help per day to take care of things around the house, or personal assistance with hygiene, medication, and movement, it helps to have a caregiver present. Families will need to compare their options of hiring a home care agency vs. direct caregiver, or providing care themselves.
If your family is faced with this decision please consider the following when deciding between a home care agency and a direct caregiver.
Family Caregiver
In some cases, a family member will step up and act as a caregiver for an elderly relative. This is a noble thing to do and has a couple of advantages for the individual receiving care, including familiarity. The individual receiving care will be comfortable having a family member that they know and trust providing care. Likewise, the family caregiver will already be familiar with the care needs of the individual.
Family caregivers are often highly stressed due to the high demands of the job which can have a detrimental effect on their health and personal lives. Working with a home care agency or direct caregiver can provide relief for family caregivers.
Direct Caregiver
One option when it comes to hiring outside help is to hire a caregiver directly. This option tends to be less expensive than working with a home care agency, but it gives the family more responsibility as the employer of the caregiver. If you hire a caregiver directly, you will be responsible for:
- Hiring, screening, and training the caregiver
- Taking disciplinary action up to termination
- Handling payroll and taxes, and ensuring the caregiver has proper liability insurance
- Replacing a caregiver when he or she doesn’t show up
Home Care Agency You Can Trust
To find the right senior care, most people turn to a full-service home care agency like Assisting Hands Home Care. We screen, hire, and train our own employees. While hiring a caregiver directly can save families some money, there are several benefits to working with a home care agency:
- A home care agency bonds to protect you against theft and are insured to cover any injuries to the caregiver. Caregivers from a home care agency are also eligible for worker’s compensation through their employer. A direct caregiver does not have their own liability insurance or worker’s compensation. This means that you are responsible if a direct hire gets hurt on the job.
- A home care agency can send another caregiver if the original caregiver is sick or cannot make it. You must provide a replacement yourself for a direct hire caregiver.
- A home care agency will provide training for their caregivers and handle any disciplinary action including termination.
- A home care agency will have trained caregivers already prepared to care for those with Alzheimer’s, limited mobility, and other conditions that require more skill from the caregivers.
- A home care agency will have access to conduct a Level 2 background check. This can check the background of a caregiver at the Federal as well as state level, nationally.
- A home care agency will require their employees to be CPR certified, and that their caregivers are all either Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA’s) or Home Health Aides (HHA’s).
- The home care agency will handle payroll, taxes and verifying that their employees can legally work in the U.S.
Assisting Hands Home Care
There are many factors to consider when hiring a home care agency vs. direct caregiver. While family caregivers and direct caregivers have their advantages, using a home care agency is the best way to ensure that your loved ones get the care they need from trained, licensed, and bonded caregivers. Assisting Hands Home Care provides in-home care services for seniors and adults with disabilities in Southwest Florida, and has done so for 15 years.
You can trust our highly trained and certified caregivers to work with you and your loved ones. We will work to come up with a personalized care plan that covers your loved ones specific needs.
Give us a call at (239) 337-4263 for more about how we can help with our senior care services.
