This topic is in response to questions frequently asked by families of new clients who are curious about what they can expect from a caregiver in a Non-Medical Home Care setting. The answer is that a caregiver does whatever the Individualized Plan of Care requires them to do! For some clients, the list of duties ranges from providing personal care, such as bathing, dressing, grooming, and then moving on to household chores such as light housekeeping, meal preparation, and laundry. For other clients, caregivers are specifically involved in providing “Memory Care”, assisting clients with dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease with the assistance they need for optimal functioning and daily routines. Still another category of clients require companionship and friendship, and the caregiver is involved in maintaining the client’s socialization and emotional stability, enhanced by activity and conversation.
The bottom line is that each client brings a very individual requirement for care, and within the realm of the guidelines of non-medical home care, a caregiver has a wide diversity of duties and responsibilities. Many clients are able to stay at home longer, rather than moving to an Assisted Living facility or Nursing Home, with the assistance and companionship of a caregiver. Families are able to continue their personal routines, work, etc., because of the availability of a caregiver.
Bottom line: Utilizing the servcies of a Non-Medical Caregiver is a wonderful opportunity to provide the specific servcies needed to allow an individual to remain in his/her own home and to free family members from the day to day responsibilities of personally providing the care.
Contributed by Sherri Kumle, Director of Miami Valley Golden Heart Senior Care
