Caregivers: Rates and Advantages of In-Home, Private Care

Earlier this year, the 2013 Genworth Cost of Care survey found that the cost of nursing home care has increased 24% since 2008, reaching a staggering median of almost 84,000! "he #rice of nursing home care has seen a shar# increase in the last few years and is, unfortunately, not e$#ected to sto# anytime soon! "he rising costs have led to the increase in demand for assisted living facilities %&'(s) and in*home care! &ccording to the +ureau of 'a,or -tatistics, the num,er of nursing and caregiver .o,s is e$#ected to .um# /0% ,y 2020, an enormous growth ,y all standards and higher than average com#ared to all other occu#ations! 0ith the growing cost of nursing home or assisted living care, and the large num,er of +a,y +oomers retiring and needing care, caregivers and nurses have a new avenue to search for #rivate, in*home care .o,s! 1ay rate for caregivers usually de#ends on several factors! -ome families will only need someone to wor2 #art time, while others re3uire 244/ care! &ccording to the 5- +ureau of 'a,or -tatistics, the 6ational mean wage for in home caregivers is 8!37, de#ending on the area and state! 8ver 97% of all in home caregivers wor2 for a #rivate #ay in home care or :edicare reim,ursed home health agency, which tend to 2ee# caregiver rates low! ;owever, the hourly rate can ,e de#endent on if you are wor2ing for yourself, you 3ualifications %a more certified and e$#erienced caregiver could earn a higher rate than someone starting out) as well as the em#loyer<s financial situation! -ome in*home caregivers, such as C6&s %Certified 6urses &ssistants) earn over 20 an hour as direct em#loyees of the care reci#ient! &nother advantage of wor2ing #rivately is the connection with the em#loyer! :any seniors and their families are worried a,out the relia,ility and =rightness of fit> when hiring an agency to ,ring in a caregiver wor2er! 0hile the agency would naturally vet the caregiver, they usually do not always #ut the ,est matches together, and often times many of their caregivers do not even show u# for wor2! +eing a,le to hire a caregiver directly and determine the =rightness of fit> em#owers the family or #erson receiving care and #uts them in control! "his hel#s develo# a ,etter relationshi# ,etween the elderly individual re3uiring care and their nurse or caregiver!

;ow does all that com#are to wor2ing in a nursing home? "he #ay rates in nursing homes or assisted living facilities are not all that different @ roughly 9!70 #er hour, de#ending again on location! &n while the costs of using a facility are going u# dramatically, the wages for caregivers is remaining flat! "his is driving a trend of more and more families and seniors are loo2ing for in*home care as a via,le, cost effective alternative! 0ithout a dou,t, there will ,e an overall growth in demand for in home, #rivate #ay caregivers, ,ut it is e$#ected that a ma.ority of the wor2 will come from #rivate, in*home hel# rather than #rivate #ay agencies or outsourced from a nursing home! &dditionally, caregivers who wor2 for #rivate hire are a,le to negotiate their wages, set their own schedules, letting wor2 as many hours each wee2 as they want, whereas wor2ing in a nursing home or agency dictates how many hours and when a caregiver can wor2! At is a great time to enter the healthcare field and an even ,etter one for #rivate in*home care! 0ith the num,er of elderly that re3uire health assistance, as well as the s2yroc2eting costs of nursing home care, #rivate #ay caregivers can e$#ect steadily increasing salaries and .o, security for years to come!