I Hired A New Caregiver Today!

Since I have served as a long-distance caregiver, I have realized how challenging it is to find good night time help.

In all, I have hired 10 caregivers, including the newest one. They have lasted from one week (a state agency replacement who spent more time smoking than caregiving) to four years (a state agency homemaker who began working eight hours a week for my parents in 2004 before my mom got sick).

Most of the time, I have managed four shifts of workers, and sometimes five.

The caregiver that I hired in November to share the nighttime caregiver duties, has consistently proven to be a problem. In fact, I hear only negative feedback about her from the other caregivers, and most importantly from my Dad. He has never felt comfortable around her. Personally, I find her to be emotionally unstable and extremely unprofessional. I feared her volatile personality could turn violent-that is why I fired her last night. I have watched her closely and conclude she cannot help herself.

Rigorous searching along with a stroke of luck brought me a new candidate yesterday. She was recommended to me by a Department of Aging director whom I’d met the previous day at a family caregiver support meeting. During the interview, I was pleased she was the consummate professional, thorough with her application, and appropriately personable.

I trained her this evening.

update: She began working Sunday night (December 2). So far, the other caregivers like her and Dad approves!