Michelle, a caregiver and Home Care Coordinator at Just Like Family Home Care in Calgary, Alberta, says being a flexible caregiver is very beneficial to help meet clients’ needs. As the primary caregiver for her 91-year-old client who lives alone in his own home, Michelle arrived earlier than normal the other morning to help her client prepare for an appointment later in the day. “No one likes to be rushed,” says Michelle. When you’re working with an older population, more time is necessary to complete daily living routines and tasks.
“That’s a real benefit of a private caregiver,” says Karen Skoretz, Co-owner of Just Like Family Home Care in Calgary. When care providers can build a bond and trust with both the client and their family members, they will go the extra mile because they are like family to them. Time is a gold nugget. They can take the time to help and not rush an individual and that’s the kind of personal care clients need and want.
Time For A Shower
Shower days are a great example of how caregivers need to be flexible, especially with clients diagnosed with dementia when shower day isn’t a simple task to complete. In private home care, if there is resistance to having a shower, which is often the case, that’s OK! The caregiver has the time and flexibility to be patient, approach each step thoughtfully without rushing, take time to warm the towels or prepare a more enticing space for the client, or more time to be able to prompt and encourage the client will make a difference, or maybe we need to completely pivot and change the shower time for the day altogether before the client is agreeable. “You never know what may make a difference to the client on that particular day,” says Skoretz but having the flexibility to pivot and try a different approach and the time to do that makes a huge difference. Facilities or some funded home care models cannot put aside enough time to be flexible the way we can be. When it’s shower day – it’s shower day and the task needs to be done in that kind of setting and it is often deeply upsetting for the client. They are rushed, pressured, and sometimes forced to shower to get the task done. It can be very difficult for everyone.
The Value of Flexibility and Giving Time
Caregivers have a lot of responsibilities and knowing how to pivot when something unexpected throws an entire day, week, or month off is a valuable skill. Caregivers are juggling a lot of different responsibilities including assisting and monitoring the health and welfare of an individual, helping to maintain the client’s home and completing a number of tasks throughout their visit, they are companions for someone and may be the only human contact that person will have until the next visit from the caregiver. Caregivers prepare meals, help with pet care, encourage and support exercise routines, and the list goes on. It’s such a unique role when you are a private compassionate caregiver. But at any time any one of the things caregivers manage can suddenly go wrong.
“Yes, a caregiver needs to be flexible and adjust to the ebbs and flows on each and every visit,” says Skoretz. It is a big responsibility and that’s why caregivers deserve more acknowledgment and credit as a professional industry. It’s a very personal relationship they share with a client and the one-to-one consistent support they receive from a well-matched caregiver who will be flexible cannot be beat.
Being flexible and giving time are two skills that are hard to quantify but often are the two things that can have the biggest impact on the lives of clients and families who have chosen private home care services.