Families often find themselves in the middle of a crisis when they realize that they need a professional caregiver to assist a loved one around the home. As a result, important decisions are sometimes made hastily without seeking the guidance of someone who fully understands how home care in Arizona works.
Unfortunately, the quality of senior care delivered usually depends on the provider and whether they possess the training, skills, and experience necessary to meet the client’s needs. When thrust unexpectedly into the role of a family caregiver, here’s what you’ll need to know to ensure that your loved one receives the nurturing they deserve.
How Does Caregiving Affect Caregivers?
Once a loved one requires outside assistance to remain at home, family members may start to feel like their lives have been flipped upside down. There are meals to prepare, prescriptions to pick up, dirty laundry to wash, and other activities of daily living (ADLs) to complete. Time becomes the most precious commodity of all as the daily physical and emotional rigors mount.
Often unprepared for the added stress that caregiving can create, many caregivers end up experiencing fatigue and even full-blown caregiver burnout. When it’s time for a break from senior care, families often turn to professional caregivers to fill in for a while. However, in a state like Arizona, home care providers don’t have to be licensed.
Why is Supervised Home Care a Safer Choice?
There are two main types of professional home care in Arizona: unsupervised contracted care or care provided through an employee-based home care agency. And although it is usually less expensive upfront to hire a 1099 contracted worker versus an agency-supplied caregiver, there are some important differences – ones that could put your loved one’s health and wellbeing at risk.
For starters, and as opposed to the average contracted caregiver, those working for an employee-based agency have been screened thoroughly – including a character background check. Most agencies provide ongoing staff training and supervision that include routine manager visits to the clients’ homes.
What Are the Benefits of Using an Agency?
So why is supervised home care often the safer choice for families? For instance, fall prevention is an important consideration in the elderly population – most notably for seniors who live alone while dealing with functional limitations. An agency-supplied caregiver has received extensive training on how to help prevent a client from falling around the home, even when they might not otherwise be there.
One simple mistake could thrust your family into the middle of yet another crisis at the most inopportune time – not to mention how it could force your aging loved one to give up their independence for good!
Additionally, when hiring a 1099 caregiver, there are tax implications to consider. As a result, when filing your return, you may be hit with additional tax obligations and penalties when least expected.
Why Would We Need a Home Care Advocate?
Unlike the typical 1099 contracted worker, a case manager from an employee-based agency can provide valuable insight regarding senior care for your loved one – ultimately empowering your family to make better-informed decisions.
By keeping you consistently updated on your loved one’s progress and changing needs, they can recommend senior resources that you might not otherwise know about. While serving as an extended family of sorts in your loved one’s home, your home care advocate will help you and fellow family members sleep better at night knowing your senior is in good hands!
Quality In-Home Care for Families in Arizona
At Adultcare Assistance Homecare, our mission is to provide our clients and their families with the highest level of senior care possible. Our agency would love to have an open dialogue with you about your needs and how we can help your loved one comfortably and affordably age in place. As a locally owned agency with a long track record of success, our highly trained caregivers can step in and provide your family with the care that’s needed.
Our home care services include respite care, companion care, medication reminders, senior transportation, light housekeeping, 24-hour, live-in assistance, and other forms of senior care. To learn more about our award-winning services now or to get a FREE Home Care Assessment for a senior in Phoenix, Sun City, or Tucson, AZ, today, please visit Adultcare Assistance Homecare at: www.adultassistance.com.
