I have been and in home care aid for the better part of 18 years. All volunteer based
This post will cover my time as a volunteer in home aid/personal care aide.
It will have frequently asked questions and my my personal answers to them.
Let's start by explaining volunteering and what it is to to a home health or personal care aid.
Volunteering means you do something without getting paid, so you donate your time, energy, and love. But there are jobs out there that will pay you.
What is an in home health or personal care aide.?
Home health and personal care aides monitor the condition of people with disabilities or chronic illnesses and help them with daily living activities.
Where they work:
Home health and personal care aides work in a variety of settings, including clients’ homes, group homes, and day services programs. Most aides work full time, although part-time work is common. Work schedules may vary.
What my job and responsibilities were.?
I did a wide variety of different chores, tasks, activities and much more depending on the client's needs and wants that day but mostly my duties included the following
* Assist clients in their daily personal tasks, such as bathing or dressing
* Perform housekeeping tasks, such as laundry, washing dishes, and vacuuming
* Help to organize a client’s schedule and plan appointments
* Arrange transportation to doctors’ offices or other outings
* Shop for groceries and prepare meals to meet a client’s dietary specifications
* Keep clients engaged in their social networks and communities
* Companionship
And much more.
Home health aides may provide some basic health-related services—such as checking a client’s pulse, temperature, and respiration rate—depending on the state in which they work. They also may help with simple prescribed exercises and with giving medications. Occasionally, they change bandages or dressings, give massages, care for skin, or help with braces and artificial limbs. With special training, experienced home health aides also may help with medical equipment, such as ventilators, to help clients breathe.
Home health aides are supervised by medical practitioners, usually nurses, and may work with therapists and other medical staff. These aides keep records on the client, such as services received, condition, and progress. They report changes in the client’s condition to a supervisor or case manager.
Personal care aides, sometimes called caregivers or personal attendants, are generally limited to providing nonmedical services, including companionship, cleaning, cooking, and driving. Some of these aides work specifically with people who have developmental or intellectual disabilities to help create a behavior plan and teach self-care skills, such as doing laundry or cooking meals.
How long did you volunteer for.?
I started volunteering, when I was 13 years old and then continued to volunteer all through out my life. This year marks 19 years I've been volunteering
Who was the first person I helped.?
My mother
She was diagnosed with COPD, and she also had other health problems such as tyroid problems and other medical problems.
Why did I volunteer instead of getting paid for it.?
Once, I did get a paying job to do the same type of work. But I didn't want to get paid to take care of someone. I wanted to give my time, love, and affection to those in need.
Some people didn't Qualify for state assistance most couldn't afford to pay out of pocket to have someone to come into there homes. Most people I met only had limited income, and most of their money went to bills such as rent, lights , food and medication, I had seen to many people struggle with day to day chores and tasks and I couldn't stand to sit back and watch them struggle when I could step in and step up to help them and give them peace of mind.
What kinds of people did you take care of? Did you have a limit to who you helped and why?
I helped a variety of different people, with many different issues from health to mental health problems My heart had no limits. I wasn't going to pretend to be God and pick and choose who I was and wasn't going to help.
What and who was my inspiration
In the 33 years, I have been alive. I have met so incredible people, with a wide variety of different mental illnesses and health problems. Also different sge groups . I have always been the type of person to take care of others, my mother used to call me a mother hen, I was always there for people, and taking care of them, I was always mothering people and guiding them, giving advice and support to people. I've always been a healer , giver, and lover.
My inspiration was my mother. She was the first one I got to take care of. It truly opened my eyes and showed me the impact I could make on people's lives. Once my mother was diagnosed with copd and her other health problems, it really opened up my eyes. I saw how hard life could be . We were on the poor side of things, and we didn't always qualify for state assistance because of my father's job. So mother couldn't get a nurse or a personal aid to come in and help. we most certainly couldn't afford to pay someone out of pocket to come into our home. I decided I couldn't let my mother suffer and do everything by herself, so I stepped up and took on more responsibilities around the house, such as cleaning, dishes, and laundry. I helped her with her medications and many other things and one day something clicked and made me realize that there is more people out in the world, and in my own town that was facing the same type of problems, people that couldn't do day to day chores that struggled with the same type of problems that we were facing. so I set out to help as many people as I could.
If you had the choice to do it all over again , would you get paid for it ?
Absolutely not. I really enjoyed being able to care for those in need of help. I really loved having a purpose, a sense of belonging, and the feeling of being needed.
Would you change anything about it.?
The only thing I would change is the fact I would make sure everyone would qualify for help, with no restrictions to their age, disability or illness. It's really not fair that certain people have to suffer alone because they can't receive help because of one reason or another.
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