Life happens! Life can happen to anyone of us, you, myself, a family member or a loved one. You could be walking down the road on a cool summer evening and next thing you know, you get hit by a drunk driver and wake up lying on a hospital bed 2hrs away from home. Luckily, few weeks later you are discharge and left in the safe hands of your family members to provide or find home care services for you. Finding home care assistance can often feel like a cat and mouse game. You find one worker and just when you thought that you had one that will stay and next thing you know the home care worker or personal care attendant is gone (phew..just like that). You get one through the door today and tomorrow they are gone. So there is so much instability and uncertainty for the people we love and sometimes for ourselves.

We all know how important it is for our loved ones to live at home and get the care that they need rather than move into a nursing home or assisted living facility far away from us.

Imagine your child taking you to a 400bed facility somewhere in Oakdale, MN, or Stillwater, MN and entrusting your care to strangers. You barely know their first names and just met them for the first time. Next thing you know, your child or relative gets in their nice SUV and zooms off into the cold winter morning breeze leaving you thinking “what just happened?” Most people who are suddenly placed in nursing homes and other facilities often get the “what just happened” experience. This is not because your child or family member does not like you or want you to live with them in the same home. It’s often because they have struggled to find reliable personal care assistants (PCA’s) or home care workers and they just get frustrated and give up on trying anymore. Finding quality home care staff takes time, effort, and money. It is even worse if you are a working family member trying to find care and support for a loved one. You work the graveyard shift and come already tired or stressed out. The last thing on your mind is worrying about the new home care staff that just walked out on your Mom or Dad.

Recently, there was a situation where Prime Choice Home Care Solutions accepted a referral for personal care services.  The family caregiver and the  person receiving services had struggled for a long time to find home care a reliable PCA. When they finally got what they described as “a good one”, the good one had religious restrictions and couldn’t touch pork meat or pork products. The person receiving services loves bacon with her breakfast every morning and often would eat other products that contain pork. There wasn’t a good staff matching that happened between the two. She was desperate to find a personal care assistant to the extent that she did not interview the staff about what she can and can not do in her role as a PCA. Its always good to inform the PCA from the get-go about what you like, what your preferences are, and ask them if they are ok with supporting you in such an environment. The quality of supports and care you receive matters.

You must take time in searching for the right PCA agency or home care agency in your area. Call several and create your realistic job preview as part of the selection process. We know that you are often in a time crunch to hire someone right away but that might not be the best option. Because it is so easy to hire someone who is often not a good match or good fit with the services and supports that you desire.

At Prime Choice Home Care Solutions in Oakdale, MN, we take time to learn about the people we support. At your intake meeting, we ask “intentional” probing questions to not just learn about the day of the week you want services provided, but we take our time to learn about you as a person, your goals, your preferences, and choices. For example, what you enjoy doing at the weekend? Are you an early morning or late-night person? Do you prefer a non-smoker over a smoker? It may seem that we ask a lot of questions, but these questions are very important as they help us tailor the supports you need, and match you with a staff person who can support you to realize your personal choices and preferences. Know someone looking for a trusted home care service in Oakdale, MN area, click on referrals to put in their basic information and we will call them to schedule a free in-home assessment. Or you can send us an email to info@primechoicehomecare.com We currently serve Ramsey, Hennepin, Dakota, Washington, and Anoka counties in Minnesota.