 | Pam Pirotte was raised in Wichita and received her Masters in Nursing from WSU. She was a nursing educator as well as a bedside nurse until 1986, when care in the home became her focus. Pam considers this the most rewarding field available to nursing personnel. The relationships are positive and precious. “People appreciate us for keeping them in their own homes.” Pam lives with her husband, donkeys, ducks, chickens, geese, goats, dogs and cats, near Leon, Kansas. Saint Raphael Home Care is located at 903 West 18th, Wichita, KS 67203, and Pam can be reached at 316-269-5400. |
Senior Living
2007-06-01 09:43:00
Working for a home care agency
Answer: There are a number of differences:
• Scheduling:
The caregiver chooses which assignments she will accept and how many hours she wishes to work. This can change from week to week. No institutional job allows such flexibility.
• Housekeeping and Homemaking:
Care of the environment is limited to bed making and cleanup of the immediate bedside in the institutional setting. In the home, meal preparation, dishwashing, vacuuming, laundry, and trash removal are almost always part of the assignment. Homemaking services are all that some clients request, when they are still able to attend to their personal care.
• Independence:
Although extensive guidelines govern caregiving behaviors at home, the personal responsibility and integrity of the worker, are essential in the home environment. Persons who do what they ought to, because they ought to, are most suited to such a job.
• Reporting:
In the home, caregivers are called upon to use their judgment about the condition of the client, the household, etc. and to report problems with the client’s safety and wellbeing. In no other area of nursing is the observational skill of the attendant so essential and valued.
• Transportation:
The car is the first tool of the home care provider. Errand running and client visits are multiple daily reasons the car must be reliable. Good mileage vehicles are, of course, most desirable under these conditions.
• Flexibility:
Home care calls upon the worker to “flow with” the unexpected; doctor appointments, family visits, hospitalization—these events may require rearrangement at the last minute.
• Relationships:
The in-home caregiver gets to know family, neighbors, etc. Collaboration with these people, for the benefit of the client, is a natural outgrowth of the environment where care takes place.
• Commitment:
The assignments a caregiver receives belong to her, much more than the beds on a hall of the nursing facility. The clients become attached and look forward to her visits. They are accustomed to their own attendant’s style of care.
• Communication:
The caregiver is an essential member of the health care team. She might be called upon to explain the physical therapist’s instructions to the family or to her own nursing supervisor. She must possess the judgment to pass on details which impact the client’s safety, security and independence.
• Compassion:
The need for tenderness and consideration in delivery of care is necessary in the institutional setting as well as the home. Persons who enjoy doing an extra little something, being gentle and kind, are much appreciated by their clients and the agency that employs them.
Question: How does home care compare to the institutional setting for money and benefits?
Answer: Rates of pay vary from $8.00 to $9.25/hour. Paid vacation is 1 - 2 weeks per year. Some companies pay performance bonuses. Most home care agencies do not provide insurance benefits.
