TALKING RESPITE: With the Respite Worker or Agency
What to discuss before someone starts working at home with your loved one
BY:FRAN SILVERMAN
When hiring an aide from an agency or using volunteers from a community group, it is important to become familiar with the staff supervisor or group director.
Caregivers should ask in-home workers...
Do you have any limits as regards what care you will provide?
Are there personal issues that may interrupt the respite care?
Do you have any physical restrictions that may prevent you from carrying out any specific care?
ALSO, go over the daily care instructions. Topics to discuss include:
When and how often you want to be updated on your loved one's status while you're away
Contact information, including how you want to be contacted—e-mail? cell phone?—with the appropriate addresses and numbers
Emergency contacts, in case you are not reachable
Foods to serve and feeding schedule
Medications to provide and on what schedule
Forms of entertainment your loved one enjoys
Areas of need, such as rising from a chair or bed, toileting, dressing, bathing
Guests who might pay a visit