I think it varies by caregiver. A couple of the people who cared for my husband took care of the hospital bed sheets, and whatever they used in the kitchen to make him breakfast and lunch. The male caregiver handled meal clean up but never touched the bedsheets.
But one of the ladies was a very motivated worker which I appreciated until she started cleaning my house when he napped. She would sweep, vacuum and loved my Tineco vacuum/mop so ran that a lot. I’m sure most of you will think I’m crazy, but I don’t want someone else cleaning my house. Several times I asked her to please stay with my husband and keep him occupied so I can handle the cleaning myself. The cleaning finally ended when she was cleaning our bathroom and broke a really nice candle I had next to the tub.
Thanks for the feedbacks about “light housekeeping”. Question was based on seeing the category in care.com.
The following is from kelsmom link. Interesting the first paragraph just has very basic tasks. But then the second paragraph descibes more of the kind of thing I was hoping to see.
What Is Light Housekeeping?
Light housekeeping should be thought of as a task that a caregiver does to help provide better care to a client. For example, when a caregiver provides meal preparation, the client can count on the caregiver to clean up the kitchen, clear the table, put the dishes in the dishwasher or wash by hand, and then place back in the cupboard. When a client needs standby or hands-on assistance with bathing, the client can rest assured that a clean towel and clean clothes will be ready for them, that dirty laundry will be placed in a hamper for washing, and that the bathroom sink, toilet, countertops, and mirrors will be cleaned and ready for the next use.
Light housekeeping includes tasks such as dusting open surfaces; sweeping and mopping floors (damp mops – small areas and hard surface floors); vacuuming around furniture; wiping down counters; washing and putting dishes away; cleaning bathrooms and kitchens; taking out the trash; changing sheets and making the bed; and organizing drawers, shelves, and closets. Light housekeeping is meant to be limited to the areas used by the client such as the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, and living room. Light housekeeping is offered as one part of an overall Service Plan to a senior to keep him or her safe and independent in their home environment.
The one thing Dad’s wife would really like is a house keeper who gets down on hands and knees to clean the kitchen floor. Not sure they’ll find that. Two housekeepers they have tried didn’t work out. One charged by hour and “wasted too much time on her cellphone”. They next on charged by the job and ”left too quickly”. But they are willing to give another try finding somebody, and I’m hopeful that getting housecleaner is easier than shower/etc helpers.
Back in my SAHM days, I cleaned houses for a friend who owned a cleaning service when she needed extra help. We didn’t typically wash floors on our hands and knees, but one client requested that … and that was what we did for that client. It’s something to ask about when trying to find a cleaning person. (I clean my floors on my hands and knees, so I get it.)
I have wood floors and a very good housekeeper worked really quickly with a wet mop (kitchen has wood floors) so that was fine. Before hiring her, I did clean that floor on hand and knee (this was in the 1990’s). So many good technique and products now to negate ‘hands and knees floor cleaning’.
Would it be better to have a light housekeeper (for the immediate need work) and also hire a cleaning team service to come in to do the deep cleaning he desires which is done perhaps every other week?
My 98 year old father had a serious health scare today. He and his wife took a hairy ambulance ride (following the firetruck/snowplow) to the hospital, but things seem better now that originally feared. My sister and I both independently determined no good way to fly to NY on Monday and started booking Tues tickets. By devine intervention, from different states and different airlines we will (ideally) land via direct flights at LGA one minute apart.
In the midst of all that’s happening in the world, I share a moment of brightness:
My dad is receiving immunotherapy for a stage IV cancer. His last PET scan showed no metastases (and nothing in the original two metastatic spots) and that his original tumor has shrunk by something like 50%. I’m so grateful for healing that defies earlier prognoses and for amazing, amazing advances in cancer care.
Thanks. Things with my father today/Monday are much better! And stroke has been ruled out. Still some confusion here and there, they think caused by Sunday’s UTI episode (unresponsive, not answering questions.. but vitals were fine when ambulance arrived).
There is a name for it, Urinary Tract Infection Induced Delirium in Elderly Patients, and if you google around, lots of studies about it. I think most medical professionals who deal with elderly (those in nursing homes, assisted living, ERs, etc.), are very familiar with it.
Maybe someone can give some guidance how to unspool all of this
My mom moved near my sibling. 300 miles away from me and 500 miles from where she used to live.
She had a local bank account, which has direct deposit for social security, her pension, and an account from her former employer that reimburses her for her Medicare. Plus her payments for Medicare. Also her credit card, that should be easy to change. She has no online presence for any of these direct deposits or for payment to her medicare supplement
She has a financial advisor in her former town. The bank she used is a credit union that’s only available in her former state.
She keeps forgetting the password for that bank, they lock her out. She is trying to get back into her account, right now it’s still locked. She’s going to try to straighten that out today.
With all of this background, mom wants to have a local bank that has a branch near my sibling where she lives now.
How can we change all of her payments and deposits to a new bank account. Knowing that she has no online access and that I’m 300 miles away?
When I told mom that it was going to be difficult to change, she was very frustrated with me.
I will cost some money, but hire a elder care lawyer. Give him power of attorney and have him work directly with the banks in question. My experience is that banks are prickly to deal with when you are not the name on the account, even if you (as a relative) have a signed power of attorney from the account holder.
The beauty of having online bank access, is that you and your sibling can have the account information (including passwords) and access it for your mother if you need to. I would highly recommend that any new accounts have online access set up.
I keep getting the password for her bank account. There is online access for the bank. My mom keeps forgetting the password, gets locked out and resets it.
I had 4 different passwords in my possession. After the last time, I asked her not to keep going into the account.
She forgot and as you would guess, we are locked out again.
Maybe when you set up the new bank near her, don’t give her online access at all, just have it for yourself. Then set everything up as needed (all the direct payments and deposits).
Pick a bank for her to use as her new bank that is big and has branches both near her and near your sibling. We did this when our kids went off to college, used a bank that was in both her college town and our hometown.
Maybe add your name or your sibling’s names to the new accounts. I managed my mother-in-laws finances at one point by having a joint account. She never did anything (I signed the checks, did all the banking in person for her, etc.).
Thanks. We already do have a new bank that has branches near my sibling. They already have online access that my sibling or I should be able to access. Also with 2 step verification now, everything needs to go through her phone number.
The issue is that after she tries 3 times unsuccessfully to log into her bank account, it is locked. I am not able to persuade her to stop trying to try to log into her account.
I am trying to figure out how to easily switch all of the direct deposits and payments into that new bank when there is not any online access to social security or Medicare. Or her pension
I don’t think there is an easy way. If your mother still has her faculties, she would need to call each and every place and provide them with the new bank information.
I just got a notice from my bank (Chase) that they are starting a new program for seniors and their POAs to have some extra fraud protection and account access for the POA. It might be worth asking your siblings that are local to your mom to talk to the new bank and see if anything like that exists there.
If you’re not trying to close the old account but just trying to change payments it shouldn’t be too hard. If I recall correctly to change social security/medicare it’s all on-line. Just pretend to be her. She’ll have to call the former employer herself; maybe your sister can sit with her. Or she can call them and give them permission to talk to you. Credit card is easy as long as you have online access. I’m local to my mom; I often make calls from her house, tell them I’m calling on her behalf, put her on the phone long enough to say yes, Juno has my permission to speak on my behalf, and then I take over. Obviously that’s something only your sister can do. I never closed her old bank account as she has to go in person and it’s not very handicapped friendly (very long ramp and then through a hall way) but there is nothing in it. They want to make it hard they can just have an open account with nothing in it. I’m on her new account so I can do anything that needs doing online or in person.