Hiring Extra Help
In addition to hiring caregivers, you may need to consider a few other options to help your parents remain in their own home for as long as possible. At the top of this list could be a geriatric care manager to assess and manage your parents' care. This can be especially important if you and your siblings live far away, simply cannot participate at this time, are overwhelmed, or cannot agree on what is needed.
A geriatric care or case manager is usually a registered nurse or medical social worker specifically trained in geriatrics and how to manage the care of elders. These case managers can mange as much or as little of the situation as you need and pay them to do. If your parents are completely resistant to outside help, a case manager can be the ideal person to step in and mediate.
Geriatric case managers usually manage a caseload of twenty to thirty patients at a time and have about an hour each week to devote to overseeing the care of your parents. In many instances, once a case is established, this can be adequate time. However, if your parents are especially difficult or needy, you may need someone who has a lighter caseload. Make sure the case manager is familiar with your parents' community or a lot of time can be wasted trying to set up care, and the cost of that time is going to be billed to you or your parents.
Case managers usually cost $200–$350 for an evaluation and monthly fees can range $200–$1,000. This is an out-of-pocket expense and not covered by insurance or Medicare, but it may be some of the best money you spend. You can find a geriatric care manager from the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers. Their phone number is 602-881-8008 and their website is
Hiring Other Workers
Other sources of help you may consider hiring to assist your parents include a driver or chauffeur, a cook, or a general housekeeper. You might look for a local college student willing to trade some time driving, cooking, and or cleaning for your parents in exchange for room and board. Or perhaps with some flexibility for school hours, this person might be willing to do any of these jobs for a specific salary.
In some areas, private chefs can be hired. This could be an option if your parents are otherwise still able to take care of themselves but can't or shouldn't be cooking any longer. There are also several gourmet-type meal services available. Some areas have gourmet meals for delivery daily or weekly, and there are some who send out frozen meals weekly or monthly. These include kosher meals as well as many other dietary restrictions. Search online for “frozen gourmet meals.”
If your parents are in need of part-time services such as driving, cooking, or cleaning, you might consider whether several of their friends or neighbors would like to share the services. That way, you would be able to hire one or two people on a full-time basis. Each day the person works for a different family. This can help reduce costs and also help in the event your parents are hospitalized or will be otherwise unavailable for a week or so; the person still has a job and a space is reserved for your parents upon their return.
Always ask for references, and if possible, get a background check on the person. Pay by check, and do not allow your parents to give cash or other gratuities. If need be, you can include a cash gratuity with the person's paycheck. Remember, by hiring privately you are responsible for paying Social Security, taxes, and worker's compensation insurance. Discuss this with a professional accountant or payroll expert if you don't understand how to do this. You don't want to be liable for illegal practices or paying for someone's injury on the job.
Another word of caution is to use common sense about valuables. Anytime you have someone working in your home or your parents' home, put the valuables away. Again, if you hire privately, the person doesn't come with bonding insurance.
