@a451866w wrote:
Good evening fellow caregivers. My name is Audrey and I use to teach. Right now I'm taking care of a wonderful 79 year old mother. Is there anyone who can tell me how I can get my mother an aide to come to our home? I learn as I go. I can sure use some guidance. Thank you.
Good morning, Audrey!
There are a few ways. The easy way costs money. Generally, the minimum cost for a home health aide is about 20 dollars an hour if you go through an agency, with a 4 hour minimum to make the trip worth while. There is some variation that depends on where you live. You can find aides for a bit less expensive if you pay them directly, say 15 an hour, but you have to do the vetting, the criminal check, and all that. If you hire directly for a long period, you might also need to consult an accountant about the taxes/ social security/ worker's compensation angle.
Depending on what your mother needs done, perhaps an aide/companion is what you need: someone to drive her to the grocery store, to a matinee, to get her hair done. Someone to take her out for a short walk. No personal care needed (so no bathing or dressing or toileting.) That can be less expensive, too.
Another way depends a great deal on what state you live in. Some states, and counties or towns, have funds for respite care, which is care that gives YOU as the primary family caregiver, respite or rest. I used to work in Montgomery County Maryland which had a program like that. So you can google "respite program" and your location.
Yet another way is if your mother has Medicaid, there are some locales which follow funds from nursing home to home, allowing Medicaid to pay for aides to keep someone home who'd otherwise be in a nursing home.
You can call your local "Area Agency on Aging" by putting your zip code in at www.eldercare.gov and see what agency comes up. If i were you, i'd make an appointment and go meet in person with the social worker you find there. Ask about all kinds of things: meals on wheels, transportation help to doctor appointments, day programs, etc. Your tax payer dollars at work!
And of course, write more here. There are many people who've been in your shoes and have a depth of experience that is awe inspiring. Your mother is a lucky woman, and you, too, are enriching your own life by caring for her. You're learning what you want to do, and what to avoid, in your own aging.
Please write more and tell us what's happening in your world. I'm very grateful you wrote here. We all have so much to share, and learn, and support, in one another's efforts to care for each other.
All the best,
Jane