The elderly are a unique demographic that require a special kind of care. When their abilities begin to decline, they require homemakers to properly care for them, but never at the expense of their independence and dignity. Homemakers for elderly care must learn to be respectful and helpful. Ace Personnel has developed a list detailing what we believe are five of the most important things that homemakers should have if they are going to be successful at their job.
1. Build Trust and Respect
While your elderly care clients may be losing their abilities, they don’t want to be treated like children. Homemakers for elderly care must treat their clients like adults and always help them to maintain their dignity. The easiest way to do that is to develop a bond based on trust and respect. Always give your elderly care patients the opportunity to try and do something and only step in if they truly need your help. If you always do things for them, you will diminish their sense of self-worth and it will directly affect the way they perceive themselves.
2. Know Your Client on a Personal Level
A common mistake by most homemakers is that they fail to get to know their clients. In a personal job like homemaking, it is increasingly important that you make an effort to get to know your clients. Homemakers for senior care are given a lot of responsibility and they can severely impact the lives of the seniors they care for. By taking the time to get to know your clients, they will feel happier about themselves and begin to trust you more.
3. Build a Routine
Homemakers for elderly care are expected to develop a routine for their clients. Sit down with your and develop a routine that fits their needs. A routine helps keep your day on track and it ensures that your elderly care patients receive the type of care they need. A routine can be as simple as taking a walk at a certain time every day, eating a specific type of food for lunch, or structuring changing and nap cycles as required. Once a routine is established, stick to it, and encourage your elderly care patients to do the same. Sometimes a routine needs to be broken and that isn’t a bad thing. Remember, use a routine to develop structure and break away from it when your clients need a change.
4. Empathy
Seniors frequently struggle with the process of aging. They begin to develop sensitivities to normal things and they find themselves unable to complete simple tasks that they have done thousands of times before. Homemakers for senior care must show a high level of empathy and work hard to relate to their clients and the struggles they are undergoing. If you have developed trust and respect and care for your clients on a personal level, this becomes easy and it is something that you will find yourself naturally doing as you care for your seniors.
5. Intuition
Intuition is something that all homemakers should have. You must be willing to step in when required, but you need to know when to sit back and let your elderly care client’s work through a problem. It is a fine balance and it is difficult to know when it is the right time. A natural intuition will help you successfully make those judgment calls.
Ace Personnel is a full-service agency that provides homemakers for senior care. We offer our homemakers to clients in Vancouver, the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, and all of British Columbia. If you have any questions for us or our homemakers for elderly care, please feel free to contact us today.
