Whether you plan for a nursing home, an assisted living center, or an in-home caretaker to care for your loved one, you need to thoroughly research suitable caretakers, as they will be shouldering immense responsibility. There are many essential questions to ask when choosing a caregiver. These questions will help significantly lessen the chances that your loved one will experience abuse and neglect.
However, despite your good intentions, abuse or neglect can happen because of circumstances beyond your control. If this happens to your loved one, a caregiver neglect and abuse attorney from Dalli & Marino, LLP will work to get them compensation for damages they suffered because of a neglectful or abusive caretaker.
3 Questions to Ask When Finding a Caregiver For Your Loved One
While researching potential caregivers for your elderly loved one, some imperative questions to ask include:
What Are Your Experience and Qualifications?
This question will be relevant after you determine the level of care your loved one requires. You’ll want a caregiver who is able to apply their knowledge and experience to your loved one’s specific conditions. For example, if your loved one has Parkinson’s disease or dementia, you’ll want a caretaker with specialized training and extensive experience caring for people in these situations. You can ask questions like the following:
- How many years have you been taking care of these types of needs?
- Do you specialize in the kind of care my loved one needs?
- What licenses and certifications do you have?
- How do you stay up-to-date with the latest caregiving techniques and advancements?
If your loved one has seizures or other conditions requiring emergency actions, you’ll want to ask if the caretaker has specialized training or certifications like first aid or CPR. When medications need to be administered through injections or IVs, ask about any specialized training and experience they may have in issuing medications in these forms.
What Are Your Values and Approaches to Care?
This is important because it separates the caretakers who are just doing a job from those who genuinely care about the people they help. Ask questions like:
- What made you become a professional caregiver?
- What do you value most when providing care?
- Do you provide a general care plan for everyone, or is it tailored to the individual?
- Are you committed to encouraging independence and maintaining dignity?
These questions will answer why the person is motivated to care for people and indicate whether the caretaker will take care of your loved one with vigilance.
What Is Your Policy For Communication?
How a caretaker communicates with you and your loved one is important. In addition to providing necessary care, you’ll want a caretaker who goes the extra mile to form a relationship and connect with your loved one. You’ll also want a caretaker to be able to communicate patiently with your loved one when faced with challenges or conflicts.
Of course, as a family member, you’ll want to be involved with your loved one’s care. It would be vital for you to keep up to date on day-to-day challenges and be informed of any changes in conditions. You’ll need to find out about the caregiver’s communication style by asking the following questions:
- What are your preferred methods of communication?
- How do you handle challenging situations or conflicts?
- Are you open to input and suggestions?
- How often do you keep family members informed on daily living episodes and condition changes?
During the interview, you may get a sense of their communication style by how they answer your questions. If they answer your questions in one-word sentences or get defensive with specific questions, these might be indications of problems that may occur during care.
Consult Dalli & Marino, LLP to Protect Your Loved One
You can do everything you can to make sure your loved one receives a high level of care and comfort, but sometimes circumstances happen beyond your control. When these circumstances lead to abuse or neglect, our attorneys at Dalli & Marino, LLP are ready to use our experience and skills to get justice.
We have been fighting for caretaker abuse and neglect victims for over 20 years. If your loved one has been abused or neglected by a caretaker, call us at (888) 465-8790 or complete our contact form to make sure they get the justice they deserve. We also speak Spanish.
