Page 16 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – WEDnEsDAy, July 3, 2024 Everett Little League Blue Jays Crowned Minor League Champs Say nir Sa a y Senior Seni by Jim Miller How to Hire a Caregiver for In-Home Help Dear Savvy Senior, I need to hire a good in-home caregiver to help my elderly father who lives alone. What’s the best way to do this? Searching Sarah Dear Sarah, Finding a good in-home caregiver for an elderly parent is not always easy. How can you fi nd one that’s reliable and trustworthy, as well as someone your parent likes and is comfortable with? Here are some tips that can help. Know His Needs Before you start the task of The Everett Little League Blue Jays of the Minor League were recently crowned 2024 Champions. Shown displaying the Championship trophy, are shown in no particular order; Matthew Perdomo, Landen Goggins, Richard Carapellucci, Giovanni Blatt, Logan Goggins, Owen Wu, (shown head behind the trophy), Jimmy McLaughlin, Marco Kotsiopoulos, Giovanni (GiGi) Abreu, and Gioanni (Lil’ G) Abreu. The Coaches are; Rich Carapellucci (Assistant Coach), Kevin Blatt (Head Coach), Billy Kotsiopoulos (Assistant Coach), and Gio Abreu (Assistant Coach). Missing from the photo are, Nicholas De Souza and Holyver Senat. (Courtesy photo) OTHER EVERETT | FROM PAGE 2 jobs here under the mistaken impression that they are applying for a job in Washington State.” School Department Communications Director David O’Connor said he gets about one phone call a year from someone in Washington State. “There’s a moment when they say something that tells you they’re calling the wrong place and it ends up being a humorous conversation,” he said. “Even though my email has “ma” in it, I still get emails intended for Everett, Washington,” School Superintendent William Hart added. “We get stuff for them, usually once or twice a year,” Ely’s local counterpart, Michael Mangan reported. “People are looking or something and for some reason they get the wrong Everett.” Alfred Lattanzi owns a chain Portal To Hope (“PTH”) serves people whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence and related assault crimes. Job Opportunities Available: PTH is seeking an Operations Assistant and a Licensed Social Worker to join our team! If you would like to join PTH’s award-winning team and share your leadership in the cause to end domestic violence, please call (781) 338-7678 for more information; or, email: nita@portaltohope.org. hardware store here. He said there’s one in Everett, Washington, and in Everett, Texas, as well and “sometimes bills get mixed up.” Everett, Texas, is 1,997.8 miles away along Interstate Route 40. Travel time is estimated at 29 hours over a more circuitous set of roads than going to Washington State. Inaccurate communications go the other way, too. “It doesn’t happen too often, but once or twice, I have seen an event in Everett, Mass. accidentally included in an event list for Everett, Washington,” that city’s Public Information Offi cer, Simone Tarver said. “I don’t know a ton about the other Everett.” “Some emails mistake us for Everett, Massachusetts,” Ely added. “I’ve heard other staff here get mistaken emails as well. People are asking about stuff , but they’re looking at the wrong city.” “It’s a common mix-up,” Everett, Washington City Councillor Mary Fosse feels – “Sometimes when I’m looking for information, the other Everett comes up.” When told by this reporter that the phone call made was from Massachusetts, she responded, “The other Everett?” looking for an in-home caregiver, your fi rst step is to determine the level of care your dad needs. For example, if he only needs help with daily living tasks like shopping, cooking, doing laundry, bathing or dressing, a “homemaker” or “personal care aide” will do. But if he needs health care services, there are “home health aides” that may do all the things a homemaker does, plus they also have training in administering medications, changing wound dressings and other medically related duties. Home health aides often work under a nurse’s supervision. Once you settle on a level of care, you then need to decide how many hours of assistance he’ll need. For example, does your dad need someone to come in just a few mornings a week to cook, clean, run errands or perhaps help him with a bath? Or does he need more continuous care that requires daily visits? After you determine his needs, there are two ways in which you can go about hiring someone. Either through an agency, or you can hire someone directly on your own. Hiring Through an Agency Hiring a personal care or home health aide through an agency is the safest and easiest option, but it’s more expensive. Costs typically run anywhere between $15 and $30 an hour depending on where you live and the qualifi cation of the aide. How it works is you pay the agency, and they handle everything including an assessment of your mom’s needs, assigning appropriately trained and pre-screened staff to care for her, and fi nding a fi ll-in on days her aide cannot come. Some of the drawbacks, however, are that you may not have much input into the selection of the caregiver, and the caregivers may change or alternate, which can cause a disruption. To fi nd a home care agency in your dad’s area use search engines like Google or Bing and type in “home health care” or “non-medical home care” followed by the city and state your dad lives in. You can also use Medicare’s search tool at Medicare. gov/care-compare – click on “home health services.” Most home health agencies off er some form of non-medical home care services too. You also need to know that original Medicare does not cover in-home caregiving services unless your dad is receiving doctor ordered skilled nursing or therapy services at home too. But, if your dad is in a certain Medicare Advantage plan, or is low-income and qualifi es for Medicaid, he may be eligible for some coverage. Hiring Directly Hiring an independent caregiver on your own is the other option, and it’s less expensive. Costs typically range between $12 and $25 per hour. Hiring directly also gives you more control over who you hire so you can choose someone who you feel is right for your dad. But be aware that if you do hire someone on your own, you become the employer so there’s no agency support to fall back on if a problem occurs or if the aide doesn’t show up. You’re also responsible for paying payroll taxes and any worker-related injuries that may happen. If you choose this option, make sure you check the aide’s references thoroughly and do a criminal background check at companies like eNannySource.com. To fi nd someone use an elder-care matching service like Care.com or CareLinx. com, which both provide basic background checks. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. nior ior
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