Before you decide which jobs stay with the family and which go to a hired hand, run one real shift and watch what gets done, what gets missed, and what needs a phone call. This guide gives you the trial method and the list to fill in.

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.

Steps

  1. List every task the family does for your parent on an ordinary day. Use one line per task. Line: ______________
  2. Tag each line as family decision, family relationship, hands-on non-medical help, or errand. A decision or relationship task does not move to a hired hand.
  3. For each errand, note where it happens and roughly how long it takes.
  4. Set up one shift you can observe in person or check on by call or text, with the task list in hand. Note the start time, the end time, and each task completed.
  5. After the shift, compare the list with what was actually done. Mark each task done, not done, or done with a note.
  6. Decide the handoff for each task. Keep the family decisions with the family, and move only the tasks that were completed cleanly.

Medicine stays with the family

A hired or in-home non-medical caregiver may give a medication reminder and pick up a prescription as an errand. Sorting, handing out, or managing medicine stays with the family, the doctor, and the pharmacist. Write that line into the task list so the trial does not drift.

Questions to ask

  • Which of these listed tasks do you do, and which do you return to me?
  • How will you tell me a task was missed?
  • Who do you call if my parent asks for something that is not on the list?

Answers to listen for

A caregiver who repeats the list back, names what they will not do, and describes how a missed item gets reported. A vague promise to do whatever is needed is not a handoff.

Signs to walk away

  • The caregiver asks the family to stay unreachable during the shift.
  • Family decisions appear on the caregiver's list of duties.
  • The shift ends with tasks unreported and no written note.

What to write down

The task list with each tag, the shift record with done and not-done marks, and one sentence explaining each handoff decision. Those three pages will tell you more than a second interview.