When you hire someone to provide your elderly loved one with in-home care, you want to do everything to ensure that they are the right match for your needs. Even if they have the right qualifications, not everyone will have the right qualities to make them an excellent in-home health aide for the elderly. In this blog, we will go over the qualities you should look for in an in-home health aide to make sure your loved one receives the highest quality care.

Patience

Ideally, all healthcare providers should have a strong ability to be patient, but this is especially true when working with the elderly. Senior patients may move slower, talk slower, and have difficulty understanding or following a conversation. Confusion is a common problem for elders, which can only exacerbate the feelings of isolation and loneliness. Additionally, an in-home health care worker must also be sensitive to the needs of the family members of their patients. Some family members have a difficult time understanding exactly how much care is required for their loved one, and a good in-home health aide will be able to patiently explain to them and help them navigate this new situation with ease.

Compassion

Compassion is an essential quality for in-home health workers to master. For many senior citizens, accepting the fact that their life is coming to an end and that they now must rely more on people is extremely difficult. Even if they do not require hospice care, as they age, more and more medical concerns come to light. An in-home health care provider must be able to empathize with senior patients as they go through this time of life. While your loved one may be unable to feed, clothe, or bathe themselves, that doesn’t mean that they don’t desire autonomy and feel embarrassed that they require care. The right in-home health aide will know to approach these types of tasks with compassion so that their patients can maintain their dignity and as much independence as possible.

Consistency

In-home caregivers need to be consistent and reliable if they are to care for the elderly. Particularly if your loved one has dementia, as seniors can often become confused. It is therefore important that there is no ambiguity in their care. When an in-home health aide is consistent and predictable, the patient can feel more secure and comfortable with them, which allows them to focus on their health rather than trying to predict what their aide will do next. In particular, those who work with the elderly should be consistently positive so that the patient knows that they can rely on them to keep their spirits up.

Creativity

In-home caregivers need to be able to think on their feet and get creative when working with the elderly. Meeting their needs and designing a treatment plan means that a home health aide needs to be able to consider a patient’s personality and specific needs to treat them the way they need to be. A creative in-home caregiver can think through the needs of a patient and implement a successful, customized treatment plan.

If you need help finding a home health aide who embodies all of these qualities, contact Gulf Shore Private Home Care. Our compassionate caregivers are experienced in elder care, and we do everything in our power to ensure that we connect you with one who can help your loved one receive the quality care they deserve. Contact us today to learn more.