About a year ago I was having problems with the home senior care service I was using for my mom, age 89. Not communicating changes, sending a supervisor out without letting me know, things like that. Overall, the helpers are great, but the constant management issues have me wondering if I should switch services. Or maybe I am just expecting too much. The latest happened today when I found out through the daytime caregiver that a supervisor had been out to reevaluate my mom's mobility because the overnight caregivers - one in particular I think - had been saying that she is up more at night. If the caregiver hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known anything. I immediately called my contact person who said, yes, she knew the supervisor was going out to reassess my mom, but didn't realize she had to let me know every time she visited - or apparently that there was a concern about her status! So...I am left in the dark that there is a concern with a change in mobility and that a supervisor has gone out to evaluate. After grilling my contact I found out that the supervisor found everything status quo. Bottom line: no one tells me. I have tried every way I can to emphasize communication, and I put up with a lot for the sake of my mom, who reasonably likes her caregivers. Do I continue to just suck it up, no matter what, or do I consider that there may be an agency out there that is more responsive? On paper, the current agency continues to look the best and I really don't relish the prospect of interviewing and bringing in a whole nother agency. I am just tired of apologies and excuses - almost passive aggressive - from the current one. What do I do?
Your Mom is 89 and your profile says she suffers depression. Does she have other impairments? Does she come across as a pretty competent adult? Would the agency consider her their client and communicate directly with her?
I really can't understand why they would be leaving you out of the loop, especially if you have made it clear that communication is important to you. Of course, if it was a year ago the last time you went through discussions about communication there could be turnover in staff and/or short memories.
Do you have regular quarterly meetings to discuss the care plan, as you would in a care center?
The fact that you want to be informed and they don't inform you is concerning. But as a practical matter, what is the consequence? If they had called and said "Supervisor will be out Wednesday or Thursday for a routine evaluation of your Mom's mobility status" what would you have done differently? Said no, don't come? Stayed home from work so you could be there? Worried a little until you heard the results?
My mom is in a nursing home. I'm their chief contact. I'm sure they do periodic evaluations and examinations that I don't hear about at all, unless they find something reportable. I've been called and told, "I don't know if you've noticed your mother's dark fingernails lately, but when the doctor made rounds today we had her examine them. We are now doing a daily soaking routine and using a prescription cream on them." So I find out and tell my sisters when something changes, but I'll bet there are a lot of things that are checked that we never hear about because there is no change to the care plan. I'm not sure how that compares to in-home care, but maybe it is something to think about.
Like one day one caregiver went to my Dad's apartment at the senior living and my Dad wasn't there, the caregiver was in tears thinking something had happened to him..... and here I had left word with the Agency to tell the two main caregivers that Dad was in the hospital with a UTI..... [sigh]. So now I made sure I have the caregivers cellphone number so I can call her directly if there is a change in my Dad's location.
I just think the schedulers at the Agency are so overwhelmed with client changes and caregivers calling out sick and trying to find fill ins, future clients in a panic needing help like right now, etc. I know I wouldn't want to do that job.