By Nate Benjamin, Owner
We receive regular inquiries regarding 24 hour care for people in their homes and sometimes in senior living communities. Their needs range from someone who is bedbound, whether on hospice or someone who is temporarily bedbound, to someone who is a major fall risk to someone who has a form of dementia and is a flight risk to someone who has significant anxiety and can’t be left alone. Each of these scenarios can require the presence of a caregiver 24 hours a day. Sometimes family member can fill this need and sometimes they can’t or sometimes it’s a combination of family members/friends and professional caregivers. What ever the case may be, it requires a lot of coordination to make it work. Many seniors live alone and if they suddenly need this level of care it’s often difficult for family members to cover part or all of their care because most families are busy with their family and work. This is where a caregiving company such as Homewatch CareGivers of Boise can help.
We provide trained, thoroughly screened caregivers who are employees of ours and not contractors and thereby they are covered by insurance, workers compensation and we pay their payroll taxes. They have oversight by our leadership team which consists of nurses, caregivers and other professionals. You might as, “why would anyone leave their home when they can have 24 hour care in the home?” The main reason is cost. Because you are paying to have a dedicated one-on-one caregiver, instead of having one caregiver per 7-10 residents like the average assisted living, 24 hour in-home care is considerably higher. Most 24 hour care cases we see are short term, two weeks or less, which helps make it available to most people. However, only those who have saved well, or have significant family support, can afford ongoing 24 hour care for a year or more.
Usually we staff 24 hour clients with two 12 hour shifts. The night shift is almost always required to be alert, unless special arrangements have been made to accommodate a 24 hour caregiver where it is safer for them to sleep most of the night. While on duty they can help with such tasks as: bathing, dressing, toileting, grooming, light housekeeping, laundry, linen change, meal preparation, medication reminders, fall prevention, wandering prevention. They help keep our clients comfortable if they are on hospice and near the end of life. They also provide a most valuable service of companionship for those who are lonely, helpless or bored, the three plagues of aging.
If this is something you or someone you know may need, please reach out to us and we will be happy to discuss your specific situation and offer help however we can, including referring other resources if needed.
