How do I know how many hours I need a caregiver each day?

This can be a tough question to answer if you don't have any experience in health care or convalescent care. Caregivers come with a variety of abilities and can perform many different tasks. So, the first thing you need to ask yourself is what you need the caregiver to do.

The first question is how many hours is the person alone each day? Does anyone live with the person who needs the assistance? Do they work for 8 hours with a long drive each direction? Do they work at home? How many hours can they care for the person after they come home from your regular job. Having an elderly person at home can be just as hard as having a small child. A person with dementia may act very similar to a two year old when it comes to safety. Often it is no more trouble than having one more family member, but a person who cannot do anything for themself will need to have a caregiver 24 hours a day.

Look at the person who needs the caregiver. What is the actual problem? Is it a physical or mental problem that required a caregiver? Are they able to walk or are they confined to the bed or wheelchair? Do you need someone to bathe them and turn them every two hours or just someone to talk to them and keep them safe? Can they eat by themselves or do they need to be fed through a feeding tube or with swallowing precautions? What other actual skilled needs do they have?

After you figure out what you need the caregiver to do and do it yourself one or two times. How long did it take you? Do you think you could get quicker over time? My suggestion would be to start with more time and cut back as needed if you have the money, if not start small and work up to what you can afford. Remember also that most agencies have a 2 to 4 hour minimum time requirement.