Page 20 avvya yavvy eniiooravvy S iorn or v y io iori 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 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 inhome 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. THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, July 3, 2024 TOWN | FROM PAGE 7 sen selectman for Malden, then representative in the General Court 1685-89/1689-91 and moderator and clerk of the writs in 1687. Later, he was appointed to be one of a committee of three to lay out the county's highways between two new towns: Redding (now Wakefi eld) and Winnesmett (now Chelsea and Revere). Captain John Sprague died in 1692 and was buried in the Bell Rock Cemetery. The younger son of Ralph Sprague, Richard Sprague (1627/8–1703), inherited part of his uncle, Richard Sprague's, estate and the foreign shipping trade with Barbados in 1668. In 1681, he joined the First Church in Charlestown and became a Representative in the General Court for Charlestown. During the Dutch War (1674), he commanded an armed vessel of twelve guns and cruised in Long Island Sound for the protection of the coast trade. On March 16, 1680/81, Capt. - LEGAL NOTICE - City of Malden Massachusetts Board of Appeal 215 Pleasant Street Malden, Massachusetts 02148 Telephone 781-397-7000 x2161 MALDEN BOARD OF APPEAL PUBLIC HEARING The Malden Board of Appeal will hold a public hearing on Wednesday July 17, 2024, 6:30 pm Eastern Time (US and Canada) at Malden City Hall, 215 Pleasant St, Room #106 Herbert L Jackson Council Chambers, Malden, MA on Petition 24-008 by Amit Thapar seeking a variance under Code of the City of Malden as amended – Title 12 MCC 12.16.010 Table of Intensity Regulations – Specifically: violation of Side Yard Setback, Principal Building - as per Plans Res-064555-2024 at the property known as and numbered 149 Pearl St., Malden, MA and also known by City Assessor’s Parcel ID #032 200 011 Additional information, Petition & plans available for public review in the Office of Inspectional Services, 215 Pleasant St., 3rd floor, Malden MA or online at www.cityofmalden.org or https://maldenma-energovweb.tylerhost.net/apps/SelfService#/home Nathaniel Cramer, Chair June 28, July 3, 2024 Richard Sprague commanded Charlestown's 2nd trainband. He was also recruited as a member of the Artillery Company, and in 1683-84 became fi rst sergeant. On April 18, 1689, he marched with his company into Boston, and assisted in the revolt against Edmund Andros (1637–1714), English Governor of the Dominion of New England (1683-89). Richard Sprague was appointed to the "Council for the safety of the people and conservation of the peace, which was established for the provisional government of the colony; but when the convention of the colony was subsequently chosen, besides taking temporary measures for public safety, assumed to institute a new government without the sanction of the crown, he, with other leading citizens, protested and appealed to their majesties, William and Mary, believing the action of the convention unconstitutional and contrary to their oaths of allegiance. He was thereupon deprived of his captaincy, expelled from the House of Representatives for ‘his contemptuous carriage against the government’, and was arranged before the court for ‘seditious libel.’ He was, however, acquitted of the charge and was elected to represent the town in the General Court until his death." To be continued… (Inna Babitskaya is a Malden Historian, a Member of Malden Historical Commission and author of historical books “From Maldon to Malden”, “Time of Converse” & “Fellsmere Park – Emerald of Malden”) Advocate Call now! 617-387-2200 advertise on the web at www.advocatenews.net Classifieds
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