In home care can be a blessing, when elderly home health care is started in a home and done right. We all hear the horror stories of the individuals that took advantage of that aging senior while providing care for them. Many times, this occurred right under the noses of the family.
There are many safety measures you can take to protect yourself before you begin in home health care. If you are reading this, and have not taken these steps, it is not too late. I will address five of them today.
There are many good people in health care. But I am an individual that believes you should not tempt fate. You cannot put a price tag on preventing something disastrous from happening to your family. In home health care means bring strangers into your home. Many of these strangers, over time, will grow to be like your own family. Minor problems with any situation are not uncommon. There is always an adjustment period, for the aging senior family member as well as the health care workers.
The more serious problems, fraud, theft and abuse are rare. But, it does occur. So it is my goal to help you not to become a victim. I have had the opportunity of compiling a list of things that family members have shared with me. Many have had had some very unpleasant experiences and do not want others to have the same things happen to them.
The most simple advice is to use common sense and do not make anything of value easily available to anyone that is coming and going from the house. Sounds simple enough, but you do not think about keeping alcohol or narcotics locked up.
More on in home care and safety
Do not allow anyone to bring in the mail or make the mail available to anyone in the house. Credit card statements and bank account numbers make an individual a target for easy prey.
It is important that you take the time to make a room that you can lock up the valuable knick knacks, jewelry, credit cards, checkbooks etc. You may feel like these are extreme measures, but when you put things away and make them inaccessible it protects the health care worker as much as it does you and your family member from theft. It not only removes the temptation to take things it also protects the in home health care worker from being accused of taking something if it comes up missing. And I will tell from personal experience that things do get lost, or misplaced and even stolen by other family members.
Do not allow the wallet or the credit cards of the aging senior to be available to any outside help. Remove money, social security anything that can be used to steal an identity or obtain credit. If you have an aging senior that is adamant about keeping their wallet and having a credit card, get one with a very low limit, as in a few hundred dollars. Be sure to monitor the activity on this card online or monthly if not more often.
If you have a senior that is at home and uses a computer, make sure that their personal information or areas where they pay bills etc is password protected. It is important to make the computer off limits as a house rule. If you are not going to be able to monitor the activity when you are not there, just be on the safe side and make certain areas on the computer password protected just in case.
In home care allows caregivers freedom and the ability to carry on their lives while trying to honor the wishes of their loved one and keep them at home. The individuals that work and provide care for elderly home health care are very special people, kind and caring. When you find a good employee, treat them like gold, because they are priceless. Just use common sense and protect yourself and give yourself peace of mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment