Gabriel

I agree with Ibake. We were lucky enough to get a referal, actually an angel, at the very time we needed to find somebody. A family friend, who was also the hospital chaplin, had just lost her mother to ALZ and the lady that stayed with her mother for years was available. She was amazing and surpisingly willing to stay with two dementia patients at once. This lady was definitely a blessing. But I also know that it was a product of luck, coincidence, a small town, and knowing who to ask. We had tried to use the Department of Aging list of independent sitters with no luck. If it had not been for this lucky referal we were going to have to find placement or go with corporate inhome care.

As Ibake said, with corporate inhome care, they deal with most of the problems and are responsible for background checks and being sure their employees are trustworthy. They also provide replacements if your sitter can not be there. Be sure to ask 1,000 question before you decide what you want to do. You are entrusting them with a precious person that cannot give you feed back on the care she is receiving. Also be vigilent until you are comfortable that you have the best fit possible.

You might also want to determine the level of care you need. If there are no medications involved you can use a certified care giver or aid. If medications are involved only a licensed nurse can administer them (by corporate rules). Be sure to determine what you want done and make sure the sitter knows what you expect. We were lucky in that our Angel would give medications, cook, clean, take mom and Dad to appointments, and even take them out to social activities. She just didn't do windows!

Good luck in your search, whichever way you go. Just be thorough in your preinvestigation of whoever you chose.

Love, deb