Tips to Choose the Best Nursing Services
By Space Coast Daily // December 14, 2022
Finding a care services specialist may be extremely difficult. You can do it either through personal contacts or through the care service. In this article, we are going to disclose some tips on how to choose skilled nursing services in Brooklyn, NY. Let’s start!
Determine why you need a nurse
Before choosing a nurse, you need to decide why you want to hire such a professional.
Here are some questions by answering which you can distinguish the purpose of hiring a nurse:
1. Is your elder in a very bad condition? So, this person needs constant care.
2. Is it difficult for your old person to get out of bed without any help?
3. Is it difficult for your elder to cook?
4. Does your old relative or friend want to live alone? Or does this person get lonely and need to communicate when you or other people are at work?
The reason for the search is also bound to the time that the caregiver will spend with your relative. We may need a specialist who will come in the morning and evening for a couple of hours to do hygiene and cook.
Or maybe the nurse will only come when you’re not home. The time of the nurse depends on the condition of the person who needs help and on the wishes of the family.
Some caregivers are looking for a 24-hour job where they can take care of the patient while staying at home. Likewise, it is recommended not to hire a caregiver with a 24-hour stay, unless there is an urgent need.
If a person has dementia and the family needs the constant help of a care specialist, the solution is to hire several nurses, who will rotate each other and not stay overnight in your house.
Several Galaxy Home Care specialists will find it easier to find contact with the patient and not burn out at work with one heavy patient who has difficulties with self-control.
If around-the-clock care is desperately needed by your loved one, make sure in advance that a caregiver will have enough private space and weekends.
Prepare your elder and nurse to meet each other
Before you start looking for skilled nursing services in Brooklyn, try to discuss it with your elder.
Try to explain that you really need help, that you care about your loved one but you can’t afford to give a professional 27/7 care. Add that a nurse has special education and valuable skills.
Maybe your elder isn’t ready for a stranger to take care of them. And, such a person is totally against nursing. In this case, look at the surroundings. Maybe some of your friends already know a good nurse. So, you can invite this caregiver for dinner.
Before agreeing with a care professional about an appointment, tell them about:
■ the patient’s state of health;
■ the illness of an old friend or a relative;
■ the limitations of the patient’s self-service.
Try to find out if the nurse is ready to work with your loved one. Pay attention to the fact that the nurse is experienced in taking care of patients with the same disease.
Maybe the nurse doesn’t have the skills to deal with people with dementia or doesn’t know anything about diabetes.
Meet the nurse in person
Even if a person has exceptionally positive recommendations and on the phone, you felt that everything is great, do not talk about your decision remotely.
Be sure to invite a nurse to the patient’s home. Only in person will understand how integrated the caregiver is into the space where the patient lives.
You will also see how the nurse reacts to you and your old relative. You will understand if the nurse can assess room security and other important things.
For example, a specialist always pays attention to the distance at which the bedside table from the patient, whether there is a drink on it and whether the person can reach it, whether there are no obstacles in the room, about which your ward may stumble and fall.
Ask about education and work experience
The caregiver may not have a medical education or master’s degree. Perhaps you hope that a nurse with a degree from a medical university or college can also give your ward injections or put a drip where necessary.
However, these are two different tasks that must be performed by different specialists: a nurse to perform medical manipulations, and a nurse to care for the patient.
In addition, a good nurse did not necessarily complete special courses. And the one who passed them, may not be able to change a lying patient or transplant them from bed to stroller.
If the nurse presents a certificate of completion of such courses, make sure that the organization legally provides this education and that the nurse has a license.
Pay attention to the previous experience of the care specialist. Furthermore, we recommend you pay attention to the personal qualities of caregivers.
Ask for documents
Ask the nurse to bring the passport and medical book to your first meeting. The documents will allow you to make sure that the caregiver is healthy, and that their name and surname correspond to the data in the passport.
The medical record must include marks for:
■ HIV;
■ syphilis (RW blood test);
■ hepatitis;
■ and fluorography.
Last but not least
Make a contract with the nurse. The agreement will protect both your interests and those of the nurse.
The contract must specify:
■ the working hours of the nurse, weekends, and holidays (whether they are paid in full, partially, or not paid at all);
■ the amount of remuneration and the terms of payment.
Also, think in advance about what you will do if the caregiver gets sick or needs to leave for a couple of days. Discuss with the nurse when the phone can be used.
As well, discuss whether the nurse can watch TV in your house, and if you don’t mind, what time. The attention of the nurse must be focused on the patient. Yet, the nurse also should rest to communicate with their patient and be effective.
To conclude, remember that it is better to pay for nursing services provided by an expert, well-known company. For instance, if you search for a professional nurse in Brooklyn, NY, rely on Galaxy Home Care.
Their specialists are always ready to share their care and experience.
