Finally, you found the caregiver who will care for your senior parent. After the challenging hiring process, you look forward to getting adequate help to ensure they live a comfortable life at home. But wait. Don’t get too excited yet. Instead, you must learn what to do on the first day with your in-home caregiver.
1. Introduce the caregiver
Speak to your senior parent about the arrival of the in-home caregiver. Depending on their health condition, you may have to choose the words to say to make things easier to understand. Or, you may have to repeat them until everything becomes clear. Show positivity and enthusiasm while talking so these rub off on your senior parent and, subsequently, welcome the caregiver warmly.
2. Prepare a care plan together
You have to discuss with the caregiver the senior’s present condition, needs, daily routines, food requirements, and other things you did not share during the interview. Afterward, create a care plan that the in-home caregiver will follow consistently. In the process, the caregiver is fully aware of their duties and responsibilities. This, therefore, helps avoid conflicts.
Another thing to do on the first day with your in-home caregiver is to get them acquainted with the senior’s traits and interests. By doing so, they will know how to create a bond and what topics to talk about so they can get their attention and, eventually, trust.
3. Take them on a tour
After talking with the in-home caregiver about the senior’s condition and needs, you must take the caregiver on a house tour. Highlight the areas the senior frequently stays in or uses—bedroom, living room, bathroom, and others. If the caregiver has to prepare healthy meals, explain the tools and equipment to use in the kitchen. More importantly, familiarize the caregiver with emergency exits and other safety features of the home. Teach them how to use smart home devices, if there are any.
Orienting the caregiver about the house rules is also equally important. For example, are shoes not allowed inside the home? Are there areas where they are off-limit? Again, you can avoid misunderstandings if the caregiver is clear about all these.
Do not think that you have nothing much to do the first time the caregiver arrives. Remember that they still need to figure out what to do because every patient is unique. Therefore, you must make an effort to do an orientation on the first day of your in-home caregiver to avoid misunderstandings and unfortunate incidents.
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