Are the caregivers licensed, insured and accredited?
Your loved ones need care and can not be alone. You are considering in-home care services but are they licensed, insured or accredited? Don’t worry; they are common questions, and everyone wants to know the answer.
The article answers your questions about caregivers’ licenses, insures, and accreditation.
Table of Contents
Who is a caregiver?
The elderly, the disabled, and sick people might need help with daily life. A person who helps them to be fine and live better is a caregiver. The mentioned groups of people could need help due to;
- Injury
- Illness
- Disability
- Limited mobility
- Memory issues
- Chronic conditions
People’s conditions, particularly the elderly’s, might make life difficult for them. The caregiver provides a wide and different range of assistance. The sort of help is up to the client’s situation. It could vary from cleaning, companionship, or taking care of financial affairs.
What are the caregiver’s duties?
The responsibilities, tasks and duties of a caregiver are different and could vary every day. You could expect a series of tasks, taking care of the seniors, the disabled, or patients.
A few of the most common ones include but are not limited to:
Overall health care
The major duty of a caregiver is to take care of the overall health and wellbeing of the clients. The caregiver monitors and checks the vital signs. If there is a change in the health conditions or things not going well, he/she does what’s necessary. It could be informing family members or health specialists. The caregiver works well with the health care. He/she receives instructions and changes to implement caring.
Assistance in personal daily tasks
Helping with the daily personal tasks is one of the biggest caregivers‘ responsibilities. The seniors might have difficulty with this group particularly. Not completing these tasks could make life difficult or almost impossible for the elderly;
- Visiting the bathroom
- Taking a shower
- Personal hygiene
- Getting dressed
- Taking medicine
- Moving around
The clients might not be able to perform the daily tasks on their own. They just need a companion or self-confidence to do the daily tasks. Caregivers provide the help they need to make life easier.
Back-Up Caregiving
The caregivers take care of the seniors or the disabled when you are not at home. The caregiver has to work or take care of personal affairs outside. It’s almost impossible to be home 24/7.
The caregiver helps when the family is not at work. It lifts the pressure from them. You know someone knowledgeable and experienced is with the seniors.
Handle Medical Emergency
The caregiver is trained well to recognize medical emergencies. He/she knows what to do and how to inform the family or health experts.
Home Organization
Cleaning the house is almost impossible for seniors. The caregiver cleans different parts of the house, including the bathroom. He/she makes the house clean for the better living of the clients.
Emotional Support
Caregivers stay with the elderly and make passing time easier. They discuss and talk with the clients and share feelings. The seniors feel lively, and it will increase their mood. The discussion can mean the world to them.
The family members might be busy or tired to provide this kind of help for their loved ones. The caregiver has the experience and patience to provide emotional support.
Monitor medications
The elderly often take a few medicines a day. Keeping track of all of them could be confusing for the age. According to the reports, “not taking medication causes about 125,000 deaths and 10% of hospitalizations every year”.
The caregiver can remind the elderly to take medicine. Some prescriptions are not to be taken on an empty stomach or without water. The elderly might not drink enough water due to mobility issues as well. All of them pose a threat to their health.
The common medication problems with the elderly are as follows;
- Forget to take the medication due to mental issues
- Take the wrong medication
- Not drinking water after taking medicine due to mobility issues
- Take medicine that interacts with each other
- Take medicine on an empty stomach
- Not taking medication at the appropriate time
The experts estimate that about “75% of the seniors aren’t taking their pills properly”.
Mobility assistance
The CDC reports that about 36 million older adults fall each year, leading to 32,000 deaths per year”. Also, “about 3 million older adults receive treatment in emergency for a fall injury”.
The caregivers help with mobility and transferring. As a result, they can prevent incidents and falls.
Home health services benefits
Today we all do not have the power to sit at home and take care of our elderly parents. For this reason, hiring caregivers can help you care for your parents or the elderly without any problems or worries.
The use of caregivers’ in-home services at home is very appropriate and effective and can have a positive effect on the physical condition of your elderly. Having a regular conversation as well as a caring person who knows all the conditions of the elderly can have a huge impact on the mental health of the elderly.
You will also be comfortable with the health of your elderly person, and you are sure that a specialist is taking good care of them.
Are the caregivers licensed, insured and accredited?
The caregivers working in the US don’t need an official license. They just need to pass a few legal requirements. They also need to pass the training courses to handle the caring situation.
Remember that the rules and regulations are different for each state. For instance, no certificate is required in;
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Iowa
However, Arizona requires “Licensure for Home Care Agencies Requires Basic Caregiver Training”.
Does insurance cover caregivers?
Medicare parts A or B cover caregiver services if it’s medically necessary. A physician must require the service in a home setting for the short term. The seniors who need non-medical care do not qualify for Medicare coverage, such as;
- Meal preparation
- Bathing assistance
- Housekeeping
In terms of Medicaid coverage for home health care, each state has different rules. The states have their asset and income limit over the eligible people. For instance, “New York applicants must have lower than $884 per month fewer than $15,900 in assets to qualify”.
The provided services are also different by each state. Some of the covered services could be as follows;
- Medical equipment
- Caregiver support
- Personal care services
- In-home health care
Insurance coverage for other private or public ones is different. It also depends on different elements. Contact your health insurance to know if they cover in-home care services or not.
Caregiver in Las Vegas
Caregiver services help the elderly, the disabled, and people who need help with daily life. The service makes life easier for them.
Health and Care Professional Network provides the best in-home care services in Las Vegas since 2006. In addition, we have provided the best caregiver services to the residents since then.
Contact us at (702) 871-9917 to receive the caregiver for your loved ones.
