Before the first shift, the caregiver needs to know where things are in your parent's home, and you need to know what the caregiver was shown. This walk takes one pass through the house with a notebook and the person who will be working there. Do it before the first shift, while nobody is rushing. The Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring page places this walk after the written agreement and before the first full shift.
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: Walk in the way the caregiver will enter
- Start at the door the caregiver will use, not the front door if that is not the one they will use.
- Note the lock type, whether the door pulls or pushes, where the porch light switch is, and where the caregiver parks.
- Walk the exit route to the outside from the parent's bedroom and the kitchen.
Entry door and how it opens: ______________________________
Parking spot for the caregiver: ______________________________
Step 2: Show the shutoffs and the safety items
- Point to the main water shutoff, the breaker panel, and the gas shutoff if the home has gas.
- Locate the fire extinguisher, the smoke alarms, and any carbon monoxide alarm. Ask who checks each one and how often.
- Show the first aid kit and the flashlight.
Main water shutoff: ______________________________
Breaker panel: ______________________________
Fire extinguisher: ______________________________
Who checks the alarms: ______________________________
Step 3: Place the phone and the posted numbers
- Show where the phone lives, where the charger is, and where the call sheet is posted.
- Say which number is called first, second, and third. Do not leave this to memory.
Phone and charger location: ______________________________
Posted call sheet location: ______________________________
Step 4: Walk the daily items
- Show the thermostat and the rule for changing it.
- Show the laundry, the linen closet, the trash and recycling day, and where the cleaning supplies are kept.
- Show the parent's walker, cane, or wheelchair, and where each one rests when not in use.
Thermostat rule: ______________________________
Trash and recycling day: ______________________________
Mobility aids and where they rest: ______________________________
Step 5: Mark the family-held items and the rooms that stay closed
Medicine stays with the family, the doctor, and the pharmacist. The caregiver may give reminders and pick up prescriptions as an errand. Show the cabinet or drawer where the medicine is kept, and say in plain words who restocks it and who calls the pharmacy. Name the papers, checkbooks, cards, and valuables that are not the caregiver's to handle. Money tasks stay with the family.
Medicine stays in: ______________________________
Who calls the pharmacy: ______________________________
Rooms or drawers that stay closed: ______________________________
Papers and valuables kept by the family: ______________________________
Step 6: Ask the caregiver to repeat it back
Ask the candidate to point to the main water shutoff, the nearest exit, the phone, and the call sheet without looking at your notes. If they cannot find one of them on the first try, walk it again. Write down which item they missed and whether they found it after the second pass. Leave the question open for the first week, when the parent's routine has a chance to show what the walk missed.
Write it down before you leave
Put the answers on one sheet, dated by you on the day of the walk, and keep a copy at the house and one with you. The sheet format and why each line exists is set out on the How We Write the Sheets page. Where a fact on this sheet came from a public page, such as a fire safety guideline or a pharmacy policy, the Sources page lists where to look it up yourself.
Date of walk: ______________________________
Who attended: ______________________________
Items the caregiver missed on the repeat: ______________________________