Choosing the best caregiver for your loved one with dementia

There are different factors to consider when choosing a caregiver for your loved one with dementia.

Good and proper care should ensure that it meets the basic needs and safety for a person suffering from dementia, and also provide an environment that will make the patient feel independent and secure.

That said, good care also means finding a good caregiver who can determine the health needs of anyone suffering from dementia, apart from several other factors like mobility and more importantly, the use of the bathroom.

Choosing caregiver for your loved one with dementia

Before you choose, ask yourself:

Whether the affected person actually needs specialised care?
Is the person with dementia safe? If he requires 24×7 supervision or not.
Is the person with dementia socially active? Is spending time with other people beneficial?

Ask for referrals

Once you know exactly what type of care is needed, start contacting providers or ask others for referrals.

Some good places, to begin with, could be your doctor, your local senior care center, your online Community Resource Finder, or other caregivers and people who used them in the past.

After you have narrowed down the list of probables, call them and explain your requirements. Ask for details regarding qualifications, hours of availability, fees, and types of services rendered.

The more data you are able to gather on the phone, the easier it will be to identify the best provider for you.

When calling a caregiver, have all the information about the person living with Alzheimer’s disease ready.

This should include:

Name of the patient
Name and telephone number of the person’s doctor.
Health and care needs.
Insurance coverage.

Start the screening process

The next important step after you have got all the referrals and made a list of possible candidates is to begin the process of screening.

Your care provider should gain your trust by properly interacting with the dementia patient. When you conduct a caregiver interview, keep a list of questions to ask. Here are some suggestions to get you on the right track:

Will your chosen caregiver be able to offer all the specific services the dementia sufferer will need?
Create and review care plans of the family and the person with dementia, and if they can be involved in the patient’s treatment.
Verify credentials to check if the caregiver is experienced and trained enough with working with someone with dementia.
Ask for backups, should your chosen caregiver fall sick or quits all of a sudden.
Contact at least three families of affected persons and ask them about the care given and concerns if any, they faced with the chosen caregiver.
Make a physical visit, arrange a meeting with the staff and spend time looking around to see the environment they are working in. Check if the caregiver can come home to meet the patient and see if they can interact well with each other.
The health of the dementia sufferer may change, prompting a need to change the provider. Since this can cause temporary behavioural changes, make sure you have a stand-by in place.