Senior caregivers will be one of the fastest growing industry sectors for employment in the coming decade. Why? Because America’s seniors are living longer while needing care services for more of their senior years. In addition, senior care services are moving to the home and with the new Affordable Care Act, there is a drive to reduce the need to be hospitalized over and over again for the same health issue.
While the new healthcare law has continued to be debated over and over again, one of the positive aspects of the law is what is called “accountability of care”. This portion of the law pretty much makes sense to everyone. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be not held accountable for their job…..which is probably another blog post…….but back to the topic which is being accountable. The new healthcare law says, “Hey Mr. Hospital, if you are going to discharge a patient from the hospital because you say they are well enough to go home, if they come back into the hospital in a few days or the next week, then maybe something is wrong with your patient care system, and, because of this, Medicare is no longer going to reimburse you at the higher hospital patient care rate.”
This means hospitals must now be more accountable for their senior care, or, they won’t be paid as much. And the result is that the hospitals now actually care where you end up when you leave the hospital. That is a good thing which also means more hospitals really want to be sure there are quality senior caregiving services in place when a senior goes home.
Caregiver recruitment now has become a priority by senior home care agencies to enable them to always have a quality caregiver to staff to the new senior clients they receive each day and week as the seniors are discharged from the hospital.
Professional senior caregivers must meet certain requirements such as:
- Successfully Pass Criminal Background Check
- Professional Caregiver Training Meeting State Requirements
- Consistent to Work Track Record
- Personal or Professional Senior Caregiving Experience
- Interest in Fulfilling Employment Assisting Seniors
Online caregiver recruitment tools include producing a professional caregiver resume, obtaining a criminal background check and completing a basic caregiver training course for professional senior caregiving positions.
Senior care employment includes working for the following senior care companies:
Assisted Living Communities
Senior Home Care Agencies
Home Health Agencies (Medicare/Medicaid Services)
Nursing Homes
Part-time, full-time and “live-in” positions are available as some age-related illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease require around-the-clock care. Live-in care does not mean that you actually move in and live with the client but instead is a term to refer to the position requiring full household management where the caregiver will spend the night with the senior and sleep at night. Live-in caregivers go to the senior’s home for a few days in a row and earn a full week’s pay in just a few days.
Learn more about becoming a senior caregiver and apply to a professional senior care job in your area on Caregiverlist. Senior care companies subscribe to Caregiverlist’s recruitment platform to allow them to efficiently hire new caregivers each week in order to keep up with their staffing needs.
