A professional live-in caregiver provides personal care and assistance to individuals, including those suffering from chronic illness, Alzheimer's disease, and dementia, within the home setting.
Typical duties of a live-in caregiver include meal planning and preparation, assistance with grooming, dressing and toileting, medication management, laundry and light housekeeping, and transportation/escorts to doctor's appointments or social engagements.
[1] As the population of the United States grows older, the demand for home health aides and professional live-in caregivers is expected to rise more than 40% by 2026.
[6] Depending on the level of service being provided, a professional live-in caregiver may assist the client with personal hygiene, laundry, and light housekeeping.
The live-caregiver can also help coordinate the client's personal agenda, including scheduling, transportation, and escorts to medical appointments and social engagements.
In doing so, they seek to improve their client's quality of life by facilitating opportunities for social interaction, and helping them to maintain friendships, continue hobbies, and engage in physical exercise as recommended by their healthcare provider.
[10] In some situations, professional live-in caregivers will even provide assisted feeding to those who have difficulty swallowing or otherwise eating on their own due to certain medical conditions, such as a recent stroke or Parkinson's disease.
The live-in caregiver should also periodically check all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the home, so they remain in good working order.
[17] Living-in caregivers can provide all of the services found in assisted living, but in the client's own home, eliminating the need for a potentially traumatizing move.
[23] Family caregivers are also more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety, use psychoactive medications, have worse self-reported physical health, experience compromised immune function, and die prematurely.
Professional live-in caregivers allow their clients to avoid moving to a nursing home, assisted living, or other long-term care facility.