Caregiver recruitment is an ongoing task as the senior care industry presents some unique factors that are not present in other industries. Marketers like to track the “life-time” value of a client. How much does it spend to market to a new client and then based on the length of time you will have the client, does the amount of money spent on marketing make sense? in senior care, life-time value rings with reality.
Senior home care agency owners know that sometimes a client will begin senior care services and tell you that doctors have told them they only have a couple of more years to live and they will then live for many years beyond this. Likewise, I have seen many hospice patients be discharged from the hospital and have life spans which were exactly opposite of what the doctor had told them. I once started senior home care services with a senior who had just decided to move to hospice and he looked great and was completely mobile and functional when he went home from the hospital but once he was home he passed away the next day. I have also provided senior home care services for a hospice client who was only suppose to have a few months to live and she lived for 4 years. Each summer she would stash her fur in the storage unit for safe keeping and then need to pull it out in the winter again and tell us she was so glad she had not given it away.
As a hospice nurse told me, “people die when they are ready”. She had witnessed the spiritual aspect of leaving this world over and over again and after seeing so many different situations I began quoting her words to families with loved ones going onto hospice care.
This is exactly why senior care companies must hire new caregivers each week – – – to keep up with new clients who suddenly need senior care services (when deciding to leave the hospital and begin hospice care) and when a family member discovers a senior has developed memory loss and is no longer safe to care for themselves or when a senior falls and breaks their hip – – in all of these instances senior care must start quickly.
Caregiverlist’s Employment Index confirms senior care companies hire from 3 to 6 caregivers each week. In addition to a constant flow of new clients, senior care companies must also keep up with the ever-changing schedules of their current senior clients as adult children may suddenly need to go away for the weekend or have more hours of service certain weeks. In addition, the senior care companies must be able to plan for days off for C.N.A.’s and professional caregivers.
Refer-a-Friend to be a Caregiver or C.N.A. and be entered for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate and introduce someone to the fulfillment of working as a senior caregiver. Anyone interested in working as a senior caregiver may apply for a job on Caregiverlist, the nation’s only professional senior Caregiver Career Center created by senior care professionals. You may also take a 10-hour online training course to learn more about the skills taught to professional caregivers.
