Hello!
I have an uncle in need of in home assistance and I'm trying to get a realistic understanding of what the cost would be to have someone live in.
My uncle is completely power chair bound and relies on others to transition him to and from his bed and the toilet or shower. All cleaning and cooking (diabetic) as well as dressing him will need to be covered by the care giver as well.
Live in is needed as he may wake in the middle of the night needing assistance. Likewise he is on oxygen and constantly gets tangled up in the cord needing someone to untangle it. When things drop on the floor needing someone to pick it up.
He also needs someone to drive him to and from appointments and to go shopping with him.
While it would be nice to have periodic care, at the moment he is needing 24/7 care with no weekends off although from time to time family can spell the care giver for a few hours to give them an opportunity to worship on Sunday.
Based on what I've written, does anyone have an estimate on the range such care would cost? The area is Salt Lake City, UT if such factors in. I'm hoping to get some pretty accurate low end and high end estimates and would appreciate the help.
You might try telling Uncle and family that you need a week off in say, two weeks time, and that they will need to find (and pay for) coverage.
Frankly, I think your uncle should be really grateful for someone to perform the tasks you're handling. It's a tough situation, and I doubt many people would take on all the responsibilities alone.
It wouldn't surprise me that your uncle's frustrated and disappointed; he's in a very difficult situation. I would be frustrated too.
Good luck on your quest.
Currently I'm taking care of him (as his nephew) with periodic relief from family (church etc). I'm schooling online which means I can multi task quite a bit and I find myself able to transition him to and from things very easily without a hoist.
For the most part, my attempt in researching this is to provide framework for increasing his appreciation. If I can get an accurate picture of the true costs involved, then I hope to help him realize that he isn't being taken advantage of and perhaps ease his frustrations and disappointments.
I'm the only one in my family able to serve in such a position at this time and he can not afford the alternatives.
If the employee were treated as an independent contractor and held responsible for his/her own tax payments, you'd have to factor that into the wages.
If not, and you acted as employer to the person, you'd be creating a situation in which someone was working well past a normal work week, literally in slave like conditions. Time off on Sunday would only be nominal. You'd be in violation of labor laws with only such small amount of time off.
The only option would be to hire at least 2 people, but as Pam points out on the transitioning issue, they would need to be there full time. So you'd have to have 2 full time live-in aids.
Factor in cleaning plus cooking a diabetic menu and you've got really what amounts to completely unrealistic expectations, at any cost. Someone who's doing the housework and cooking should not also be expected to provide manually difficult transitioning tasks as well.
And given your uncle's requirements, you really need someone trained in specific medical procedures, such as lifting and transitioning.
The other potential option is to have one live-in caregiver, with time off as required by labor laws, with either 1 or 2 more helpers alternating spending days and nights. I think you should also consider a housekeeper/cook for the domestic chores.
I write this not sarcastically, but as a suggestion. If there are any FLDS groups around Salt Lake City, that might be a possibility as there are enough wives to manage the children while some of them go out to work. I understand there are some enclaves toward the SW Utah border; it might be there is someone there who might be interested in the housekeeping/cooking aspect, or someone else trained to provide the aide work.
Pam's suggestion of a facility though is more appropriate because at least your uncle would have companionship and activities (music, e.g.,) which he wouldn't necessarily have at home.
You're a thoughtful person to want to provide home care for him, but I just don't think this is a very workable situation.
At $10,000 a month, a NH works out to $13.88 per hour. You will pay more than that for what you want.
I don't mean to be a smart alec, but room and board really isn't worth much to people unless the person is single and homeless. And if you hire direct, be aware of this: once someone has lived with your uncle for a few weeks, most state laws consider them a tenant with all the accompanying protections that can mean you won't get them out of the house without legal action...extremely important if they don't work out.