Home Care in East Grand Rapids, MI – Why you Should Hire a Professional Caregiver

Home Care in East Grand Rapids, MIWhen it becomes time to look into professional caregiving for your elderly loved one, you might be tempted to look in the classifieds to find a budget caregiver. There are some reasons you should seriously consider avoiding that. If you want to know what the advantages are of hiring a professional caregiver, you’ve come to the right place.

You may be initially drawn to classified ads looking for a caregiver because you assume they will be cheaper than a caregiver through a licensed agency. While this may be true in some cases, you will certainly only get what you pay for. It makes you wonder why a person would hire themselves out at a cut-rate price! Often, the costs are very similar, but the benefits of professional care largely outweigh those of private care.

Benefits of hiring a professional caregiver from a licensed agency

  • Agencies and their caregivers must meet or exceed certain standards of care. There is no one to monitor the quality of care of a private provider.
  • Caregivers, companions, health care aides and all employees of a licensed in-home care service are carefully screened. They must possess basic skills, have background checks and reference checks.
  • After hiring, agency caregivers complete training sessions on a regular basis to ensure their skills are kept up to date. They learn about traditions of different cultures, specific regulations, etc.
  • Licensed homecare workers are supervised closely.
  • If there is ever a problem with a homecare worker, systems are in place for immediate resolution.
  • If your agency caregiver gets sick, the agency provides a replacement. You are never left without quality care for your precious loved one.

Hiring a private unlicensed caregiver means you become the employer and must take on the responsibilities that ensue, as well as know how you would handle workers’ compensation, federal tax issues and liability. With agency home care, you don’t have any of those responsibilities. The agency is the employer and you are a customer of their service. This surely takes a load off your shoulders!

With home care through a licensed agency, you basically can become worry-free. You don’t need to worry about receiving the best quality care for your loved one. You can rest assured they are in the best hands while you can go on with the things in your life you need to take care of. The training and experience they have means they can take care of any issues that come up with Alzheimer’s or dementia which can be difficult for the family caregiver. All the personal care and home care needs of your loved one would be met on a daily basis.

If you or someone you know needs help with home care in Grand Rapids, MI, contact the caregivers at Gauthier Family Home Care. We provide quality and affordable home care for many disabled and elderly loved ones in our community. Call us at (616) 258-2300 for more information.

Gauthier Family Home Care