In-home care is a demanding and important profession. It can be difficult to know which duties are the responsibility of your caregivers, so we have put together this list of in-home care duties to help you out.
Caregiver Duties and Responsibilities by Category
This list outlines the key personal care, medical, household, mobility, shopping, and financial duties that caregivers should carry out.
Personal Care Duties
In-home caregivers provide several personal care duties for clients. These duties include:
- Assisting with personal hygiene, including bathing, dressing, and grooming
- Providing incontinence care
- Transferring and ambulation assistance
- Toileting assistance
- Eating and nutrition assistance
- Oral care
- Skin care
- Hair care
- Nail care
- Emotional support and companionship
- Monitoring mental status and reporting changes
- Safety supervision
- Supervising medication administration
Medical Duties
Note that medical duties should only be carried out by caregivers with the appropriate licensing and training. This ensures the safety of the client and that of the home care agency, as well. Medical duties include:
- Wound care
- Catheter care
- Tube feeding
- Ostomy care
- Blood sugar testing
- Injections
- Administering medications as prescribed and tracking prescriptions
- Changing non-sterile dressings
- Providing hot or cold compress therapy
- Applying lotions or ointments to skin
- Checking vital signs, such as blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration
Household Duties
Some in-home care patients cannot complete daily household tasks. Therefore, they require help from in-home care professionals. These duties include:
- Light housekeeping, including making beds, doing laundry, and cleaning up after meals
- Preparing meals in accordance with dietary restrictions
- Running errands, such as grocery shopping and picking up prescriptions
Mobility Assistance
In many cases, clients obtain in-home care services because they have mobility issues. Your caregivers may help as follows:
- Help with ambulation using canes, walkers, or wheelchairs
- Provide transportation to appointments and events
Shopping Assistance
Some home care clients will need shopping assistance and in-home health caregivers will provide this help in areas such as:
- Assist with online shopping and order placement
- Pick up groceries and other necessary items
Financial Assistance
Some home care clients cannot complete financial tasks on their own. Therefore, in-home caregivers may help clients with:
- Paying bills online or through the mail
- Organizing financial documents
- Keeping track of expenses
Most Popular In-Home Care Services
The in-home care services that most clients request are:
- Assistance with personal care tasks
- Medication administration
- Mobility assistance
- Light housekeeping
- Meal preparation
- Running errands
- Financial assistance
To run a successful in-home care business, you will want to consider all the services that truly satisfy the needs/wants of your potential clients. That’s why we recommend offering all of the in-home care services that clients might need. Hire staff that are properly trained in each in-home care service so that you can confidently provide a well-rounded, in-home care experience.
Conclusion
This is by no means an exhaustive list of in-home care duties, but it covers the most important ones. If you have any questions about what duties your caregivers should provide, be sure to speak with other industry professionals who can offer helpful advice. And, be prepared to answer all the questions of potential clients who are looking for providers they can trust with all the elements of personal care.