A caregiver can do the job you hired for and still be stopped by the house. The furnace quits on a cold morning, the kitchen faucet starts leaking into the cabinet, or the front door lock sticks and nobody can get in. None of these is a caregiving problem, but each one lands on the shift anyway. This sheet sets the line between the person on the clock and the person who owns the repair, and it does that on paper before the first bad day.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Step 1: List the House Items That Can Stop a Shift

Walk through the house and write down every item that, if it failed, would stop a shift or put your parent at risk. Most homes have a short list: heating and cooling, water and drains, the electrical panel and breakers, the refrigerator and any powered equipment your parent depends on, locks and door hardware, the phone or internet line if it carries an alert system, and the water heater.

Write here: ______________________________________________

Step 2: Name One Default Caller for Each Item

Choose one family member as the first call for each item, and a backup under that name. Two people with the same job will each assume the other made the call. Write the names beside each item on your list. If the caregiver is the only person reachable during a shift, the caregiver still does not make the repair decision unless you have written that they may, with a limit (Step 3).

Step 3: Set the Spending Line in Writing

Decide the amount a person may approve without calling you first. Write it as one figure, and state whether it covers the service visit, the parts, or both. Ask the caregiver and the family member to read the line back to you. A line that exists only in memory will be argued about later.

Write here: Approved without a call, amount ________, covers visit / parts / both (circle one)

Step 4: Write the Stop-Work Steps for the Caregiver

Ask what the caregiver does while the problem waits. Write the steps in this order and post them near the house file:

1. Check that your parent is safe and in a room that suits the problem, such as a warmer room if the heat is out.
2. Call the named caller. If there is no answer within the time you set, call the backup.
3. Describe the problem, note the time, and photograph it if you can do so safely.
4. Do not open the electrical panel, work on a gas appliance, or take apart a unit yourself.
5. Finish any shift task that can still be done, and write the event in the shift record.

If there is a fire, a gas smell, or any risk to your parent, call emergency services first and follow the emergency card. The break-fix line does not replace that card.

Step 5: Ask Repair Companies Four Questions Before You Need One

Call the companies you would use and ask:

- Do you answer on the day of the call, and during what hours?
- Who will come out, and can they enter the house without a family member present?
- Will the invoice list the problem found, the work done, and the parts used?
- What is your charge to come out before any work is approved, and is it in writing?

Listen for a named person, a time window, and an itemized invoice. Walk away if the answer is only that someone will get to you, or if they will not put the visit charge on paper before work starts.

Step 6: Record Each Event

Write one line for every event: the time and day, the item, who was called, what was approved, what it cost, and whether the shift was lost or shortened. Keep these lines with the house file so the pattern is visible when the same item fails twice.

Write here: Time and day ______ Item ______ Called ______ Approved ______ Cost ______ Shift lost? Y / N

Signs the Line Is Not Working

- Two people each say they believed the other had handled it.
- The caregiver calls you about small items the line already covers, or spends above the line without asking.
- The same item fails twice and the record shows no fix.
- A repair company will not put the visit charge or the work performed in writing.

Keep the Line Current

Review the line whenever the house changes: a new furnace, a new default caller, a new spending amount, or a new company. Put the review on the same calendar as the monthly task list review so it does not get skipped. For the order of the whole hire, see Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring.