With an ageing population, Canada is expecting increasing demand for professional caregivers. Caregivers can take many career paths, including becoming live-in caregivers.
Live-in caregivers live in the homes of care recipients to provide full-time care and support. They help seniors, including those with chronic diseases and disabilities, age in the comfort, dignity, safety and security of their own homes. Live-in caregivers can provide all the services that can be provided by assisted living facilities. However, clients get to remain in their own homes, maintain their independence, get personalized one-to-one care, and form stronger and deeper bonds with their caregivers.
Many studies show that seniors who receive care in their own homes are healthier and happier than those in care facilities. That is why almost 97% of Canadians have stated the preference to age in their own homes.
How can someone become a professional live-in caregiver?
All caregivers, whether live-in or live-out, need to be professional, caring, compassionate, empathetic, and committed, with the ability to deal with the emotional challenges of caring for the elderly and the vulnerable. These are the most critical personal traits for a caregiver to succeed.
Not many qualifications are needed to become a professional live-in caregiver. However, families, especially those with loved ones with complex care requirements, may prefer to hire those with certifications such as Personal Support Workers, Home Health Aide, or Nursing. They also prefer caregivers with previous professional caregiving experience before they can trust the safety of their loved ones with them.
Like many reputed agencies, ConsidraCare maintains high standards for its approved caregivers. We do extensive background reviews including a police check, validation of certifications, vaccinations, and professional references, and take the caregivers through a multistage interview process to assess their skills and experience. We also believe that caregiving requires lifelong learning and make extensive learning and training resources available once we have onboarded a caregiver.
What does a live-in Caregiver do?
Live-in caregivers provide several services including companionship, assistance with activities of daily living, meal planning and preparation, medication management, light housekeeping, grocery shopping, safety assurance, support with dressing, hygiene and toileting, and more to their clients.
You can download a copy of our Caregiver Standards here to get more details about the role of a caregiver.
What are the benefits of becoming a professional live-in caregiver?
Caregiving can be a highly rewarding career. Caregivers make a profound difference in the lives of many people, especially those who are vulnerable. However, caregivers, especially those working in temporary hourly arrangements with private agencies and retirement homes face many stresses, such as having to deal with dozens of clients at the same time, unpredictable and non-regular hours, commuting to multiple locations, low wages and not being part of the care planning process.
Live-in caregiver, on the other hand, can be a superior career path for caregivers with many benefits including:
1) Regular and predictable hours
2) Lower living expenses due to free/subsidized boarding and meals
3) Taking care of only one client at a time
4) Full participation in the planning and delivery of care to their clients
5) Flexibility to maintain their schedules
What sets ConsidraCare apart?
ConsidraCare is a placement agency. This means that we screen and introduce live-in caregivers to families, but the caregivers are the employees of the families. However, unlike typical placement agencies, ConsidraCare remains involved with the families in the delivery of care on an ongoing basis and provides support to the caregivers on their behalf. Some of the unique aspects of working with us include :
1) Guaranteed minimum hourly rate which is at least 20% above the minimum wage
2) Perks such as subsidies for vulnerability sector checks and liability insurance
3) Free access to an online training
4) Monthly touchpoints to review the care plan and improve the delivery of care
5) Caregiver app to help the caregivers keep track of daily tasks and the care recipients’ health
6) Payroll and tax support for clients to ensure that the wage and WSIB, CPP and EI remittances are being made properly and on time
Are you a Canada-based live-in caregiver interested in learning more or applying for a live-in caregiver position with ConsidraCare in Ontario? Please apply directly here or contact us at 1-855-410-7971 and we will be happy to help.
