Finding caregivers

[MaryKath]

My son has ALS and lives alone. I live in another state and am retired. He needs help 24/7. The availability of caregivers has declined since COVID. All of the nursing students are now working full time in their profession. Where can we find the help we need?

 

[jonico]

I'm not sure what state your son lives in MaryKath, but CCALS, Compassionate Care ALS is located in your state and I highly recommend giving them a call for starters.

 

[MaryKath]

Thank you for your response. We contacted them yesterday. They have LOTS of guidelines. The stumbling block was that they cannot administer medication. My son needs medication throughout the day and needs it through his feeding tube.
It seems we need to independently hire PCA’s and train them ourselves. I’m out of ideas about where to advertise for help.

 

[jonico]

What state does your son live in?

 

[lgelb]

Don't call them PCAs-- it's a term out of the spinal cord injury/Medicaid world that will seldom bring you good candidates. I can't remember what I posted for but probably something like part-time aide...and then went into the description. If you are looking for someone more full-time, you may be pulling more from the semi-retired category. A lot of people (and remember, you don't need "experience" -- most of our helpers had none) pulled back from health care or school because of Covid. You just need to reach them.

Places to post/spread the word: colleges with pre-nursing programs, including community colleges; CNA trade schools, senior centers, churches, community associations, local Facebook/NextDoor/classifieds portals, LinkedIn local jobs groups....

Ideally, if you find one good person even if they are part-time, they have friends/networks... Then they can trade times among each other when needed.

You can check criminal histories and other evidence by Googling.

The local ALSA/MDA may have referrals though I didn't find any worthwhile.

Best,
Laurie