Live-in care in NJ is an excellent alternative to sending your family member to a nursing home or hospital when you cannot provide them with round the clock care. Live-in care providers are available for your parents or another family member that has been injured or has a serious illness that requires continuous care. A live-in care provider is typically trained to provide a wide range of services, including patient education, physical therapy, nutritional assistance and monitoring the patient and their illness. Other services may include bathing, dressing, helping them in and out of bed and household chores, such as cooking, shopping and cleaning.
There are several ways to find live-in care in NJ, but it is recommended that you consider an agency before searching for live-in care through a public advertisement. Care providers who work through an agency have been thoroughly trained and undergone a variety of background checks. Depending on the illness, the age of the patient and the type of insurance coverage the patient has, some services are usually covered by insurance. However, it is important to verify with the insurance company ahead of time exactly what is covered under their policy. For example, although the care provider may be considered live-in, the insurance may only cover for then to be in the residence for three days each week, so the patient will be responsible for paying out-of-pocket for the remaining days of the week.
When you are interviewing live-in care providers, it is important that the patient be present as often as possible during the interviewing process. The care provider will be residing with the patient, assisting them with personal hygiene and providing companionship and support, so it is important that they are comfortable with the person providing the care. For example, it is common for elderly patients to feel more comfortable with a care provider of the same sex. It is important that you make a list of the types of services your loved one will need assistance with and clearly specify these requests to the potential caregiver. As a live-in caregiver, they will require a space of their own, so you should make sure there is a clean and comfortable area where the caregiver can sleep, relax and have private time.
