My Parent Needs Home Care in Toronto But I Know Nothing About It. What Do I Do?
When considering Senior Home Care in Toronto it is often a good thing to talk to friends who have had experience with it as they can be an excellent source of knowledgeable and unbiased advice. Keep in mind that they can relate personal experiences with home care, but may well not be experts in home care support services you require. Beyond that you should generally be aware of the types of home care support that exist and which one of those may be most suitable for your senior.
Home care support can be categorized in different ways as shown below:
First, home care in Toronto can be provided at different times of the day based on your needs. Duration support may include either during the day, typically for a minimum of 3 or 4 hours per visit or overnight care as well as 24 hour per day live-in care. These are the three basic options in terms of time during the 24 hour day when services can be provided. Home care companies will provide care during the daylight hours at the time you require them. There are no preset shift times when it comes to your home care support.
Secondly, home care can be provided in quite a few different forms. As one such an example, home care support can be in forms that include Companion Care which typically includes home care support services such as meal making, light housekeeping, companionship, shopping, errands, etc. Home care support can also include Personal Care which can include all companion care services plus home care services such as dressing assistance, bathing assistance, assistance with incontinence, assistance with transfers, etc…
Finally home care support can include nursing level services and these services can include a wide variety of specific services that tend to be more medical or complex in nature. Nursing home care services are typically provided when a senior needs a medical checkup, an injection of medicine or care that other caregiver are not licensed or qualified to provide.
Finally, you can acquire home care support in a variety of different ways through different providers.
First, you can hire your own home care support caregiver and become their employer. In this case you assume 100% of the responsibility for employing them as an employee (ie: issuing cheques, taking deductions, remitting deduction to the government, paying insurance, etc.). You also assume the responsibility to find a new home care support caregiver if the original caregiver resigns.
Second, you can have a reputable healthcare company provide one of their employees as a caregiver. In this way they manage all aspects of the employee’s employment, they manage their performance, and they will replace the employee if they are sick or resign. You do not have to worry about any aspect of their performance or employment for your home care. (see article about selection of home care agency)
With all this said, be sure to perform a thorough Home Care Assessment that comprehends all important aspects of the seniors needs. In this way you then select the right person with the right skills, experience and work ethic to provide these home care services.
If you require Home Care in Toronto please contact us.