The San Francisco Chronicle reported the tragedy of a 94-year old lady in the East Bay who was apparently murdered by her caregiver. The suspect was hired through an online ad channel based on a recent, fairly credible work reference. However, unbeknownst to the family, the caregiver had spent six years in a mental institution.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-06-25/bay-area/21925154_1_mental-hospital-caretaker-mary-scanlon
I was particularly moved by this article because as my parents relocated to the Bay Area from Michigan, I tried to recruit a suitable team of caregivers without an agency. My father sustained a traumatic brain injury two years ago, and I was confident that I could do this myself and find a competent caregiver for him. To find a caregiver I used an online search tool and even placed an ad in the local Chinese newspaper. There were three promising tandems of caregivers which included a mother-daughter team, two sisters, and two high school classmates from 20 years ago. Little did I know that these types of tandems create a clear conflict of interest.
After sifting through many replies, I discovered that every candidate interviewed could emote and show tenderness toward my dad. But you do not know whether or not they are competent or if you can trust them. Having “failed” to recruit on my own, I offer four personal reasons why I would always use a competent home aide agency:
- You can never truly discover the real motivations behind a “free agent” caregiver. (Care giving is a largely unlicensed market in the U.S) It is wrong to assume that they are there because they actually care and love the patient. Some lack education or discipline and want some easy hourly work with no direct supervision. Some can’t find other jobs while others need a steppingstone to some other career. With a free agent caregiver remains almost completely unaccountable. How could I expect my dad to be a watchdog in his very own home, especially when I could only spot check by phone or with an occasional visit? Little or no supervision can lead to foul play. A professional agency with high standards lends objective, emotion-free, filtering for the right candidate.
- You take on the no-win position of both stakeholder and gatekeeper. I witnessed how my dad and mom both so quickly bonded with one prospect during the interview. It becomes like dating on the first impression, but with one major difference after one date in the restaurant, you can still walk away. On day one, the caregiver sits inside–your parent’s home where they and their belongings are most vulnerable.
- You have no control how the relationship will evolve or take a turn for the worse. The caregiver will lend the most intimate, private attention to my dad. This will create an emotional attachment which maybe difficult and unpleasant to sever later. How would I or my mom ever fire them, much less offer gentle criticism? An agency can provide the necessary buffer and rotation so the comfort level does not get too uncomfortable for you or too comfortable for the caregiver.
- Although I did not think of it at the time, what would we do if our caregiver called in sick or had an emergency? How would I find a capable and trustworthy caregiver on such short notice? I would surely have to drop everything to fill in myself which would be a tremendous inconvenience for my business and my own family.
These past two years of helping my brain-injured father deepened my interest in the home care field and led me to join Home Sweet Home Care as its new operations manager.
