It is easy for family and friends, as well as professionals, to suggest finding someone to help with housekeeping tasks and care responsibilities.
Having someone else take on some of your housekeeping or personal care tasks might sound appealing to you too. Where do you begin to find someone? Can you afford it?
This fact sheet will help guide you through the process of hiring help at home. For purposes of clarity, this fact sheet will refer to hired care providers as attendants. Other terms that are used are home care attendant, home care provider, care worker, and hired help.
With constant care and companionship responsibilities, you may have very little time to yourself. If you are caring for someone who needs to be transferred from bed to wheelchair or out of a chair when sitting, you may be at risk for injuring your back.
For those caring for a family member living with dementia, you may be also be dealing with challenging behavior, wandering risks, or actions that might be harmful or dangerous such as leaving cooking burners on. Are housekeeping routines and cooking being done with great difficulty or being left undone? Consider your needs as a caregiver and the needs of the person you are caring for. Here are the main areas to assess:.
