About four years into Harvey’s dementia, it became clear that he did not need to be left home alone every day. Not that he was in any danger, but he was at loose ends to know how to spend his day, especially since he was no longer driving. I thought it was time to hire someone as a companion for him.
I first hired an agency to place someone for four hours every day. I thought that Harvey might respond better to a male, so I made that request. Well, there were very few male caregivers out there, and the two we tried were not a good fit. One was too loud, and Harvey avoided him, and another watched TV the entire time.
So I loosened the gender requirement. The agency sent two different women to cover the shifts, and it seemed to go very well for several weeks. When I noticed different names in the log book, I called the agency and requested consistency, stressing that a patient with dementia needs stability. On the next billing cycle, there were eight different caregivers listed. I fired the agency.
Eventually it became apparent that Harvey needed someone with him all the time. He had wandered away once, and he was creating chaos with our bills and paperwork, all in an effort to find something to do while I was at work. I was becoming increasingly worried that a catastrophe might occur.
Because of the experience with the agency, I changed tactics and asked for, and received some recommendations from people in my support group. I hired two women to cover a time frame of 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM. This would give me time to exercise, get ready for the day, and eat breakfast while Harvey and the sitter could quietly and gently begin the day.
These two women slipped into our family’s life like they had always been a part of it! They were true companions to Harvey, not sitters, but doers, taking him on outings most days. I could leave a list of errands and suggested adventures for them, and they followed through. They also got along well with each other, covering each other’s shifts if an emergency arose.
More importantly, Harvey adored them!
It was a long, sometimes painful process, but finally finding the right professional caregivers was a godsend!
When he was in a nursing home, there was a period of time when Harvey required more supervision than the staff could provide. I hired an agency, one suggested by the nursing home, and worked closely with the owner of the agency to insure consistency in care. This actually worked quite well because the owner was very responsive to our needs.
I found advantages and disadvantages in choosing an agency or hiring privately. The agencies I used did the hiring, the background checks, and took care of paying salaries, insurance, and taxes. Hiring privately, for me, was cheaper, but I was responsible for all the logistics.
In the end, I would say there is no one right system. Finding the right professional caregivers, specifically for our personalities and circumstances, regardless of how they were hired, was the key.