Have anyone has ieads about Assisted Living Employment?
QUESTION: We seek the assistance of someone to act as a
caregiver/companion to our 73 year old, physically active father, who has
early stage Alzheimer's. Specific job requirements would be to meet him 5
times a week at his assisted living care facility, located on Blackstone
Boulevard on the East Side of Providence, and to facilitate his
participation in one of several daily physical activities.
Possible activities might include among the following:
1) While the outside weather permits, one possible activity would be taking
him on a 1 to 1 1/2 hour cycling trip around town, preferably during the
less busy traffic times of the day and/or on the Providence to Bristol
cycling path. (NOTE: He has a mountain bike, which we store at our house,
located 3 minutes away from his assisted living care facility.)
2) Another activity might consist of taking our father on a vigorous 1 to 5
mile walk in and around the East Side, possibly walking up and down the
Boulevard.
3) As our father is an excellent swimmer, and as the winter weather sets in,
the individual would pick him up, transport him to anyone of various
facilities; ie: Brown University's Athletic Center, JCC, YMCA, etc and
assist him with getting changed, in and out of the locker room, and to the
pool. Once in the water, he can be counted on to swim without any
assistance. It's merely the tasks associated with getting into/out of the
locker room, and dressed/undressed with which he'll need minimal assistance.
We anticipate the time required to accomplish this daily exercise will vary,
but probably average about 2 hours a visit. We would like for the times
which he exercises to be on a regular schedule, although that schedule can
be flexible, depending on the individual's schedule. Preferably, due to the
need for assisting our father with dressing, accessing the locker room
facility, etc., the individual should be male, and be mature in the handling
of problems associated with a person with Alzheimer's.
Our father is a very personable fellow, but can sometimes complain about his
situation (i.e., no longer living independently). However, he is in amazing
physical shape for a man of his age, even with the disabilities associated
with his memory loss. The prospective individual should be reliable, and
have the presence of mind to understand that our father's needs are, at
times, similar to those of a young child, who sometimes needs to be reminded
to put on his sock before his shoe.
BACKGROUND: Here's a brief background of our need. We recently moved our
parents from their home in northern New Hampshire, to an assisted
living care facility, Beechwood, located close to us, here on the East Side
of Providence.
Burt and Ellen, our parents, are 73 and 74 years old,
respectively. Both are in very good physical health. Our mom, Ellen, has
struggled with bipolar depression for over 15 years, but, after 2 months of
living in the current situation, appears to be doing quite well. Our
dad, Burt, has early-mid Alzheimer's, but is an extremely active person,
needing
daily exercise. They were unable to continue living independently in their
home, due to their differing needs/problems.
Unfortunately, the facilities at Beechwood do not allow Burt adequate access
to daily physical activity. We feel his continued access to some kind of
daily physical workout is vital to his mental as well as physical health. As
both Keith and I work, and don't have flexible schedules to accommodate his
needs, we are seeking outside assistance.
THE NEED: We are looking for an individual, who probably should be male and
also athletic, to pick Burt up at the Beechwood facility, located on
Blackstone Blvd., 5 days a week, for some kind of physical activity. Burt is
an excellent swimmer, loves to ride his mountain bike, and can walk for 3-5
miles at a time, without tiring. However, he can't be counted on to be able
to get changed and in and out of an athletic facility/locker room, and/or to
successfully negotiate the streets and paths of Providence, alone.
We anticipate that what would work best for Burt would be for someone to
meet him at a regularly appointed time each day (NOTE: this time could vary,
dependent on a individual's schedule) for some kind of athletic workout.
Probably, given the upcoming winter season, swimming will become the
preferred activity. We would be willing to open up an athletic membership at
Brown, JCC, the Y, etc to allow for Burt to exercise there. The individual
should be prepared to ask Burt if he remembers each time to bring the
appropriate gear (i.e., swimsuit, goggles, towel, membership card, etc.),
and to then assist him with getting changed into his suit, and into the
pool, etc.
Burt functions well, and can be counted on to swim on his own, unsupervised,
but the caregiver will need to realize that many tasks, particularly those
which require any kind of memory, will need to be given assistance. Our
guess is that the individual should be at ease with older people, and not
shy about reminding Burt of even the smallest details (i.e., drying himself
off after swimming, putting on of socks, shoes, etc.)
COMPENSATION: We are willing to compensate the individual for his efforts at
a rate of between $8-$10/hour, depending on experience, activities agreed
upon, etc. We would like for the individual to meet with our father at least
5 times a week. The average weekly work schedule would be about 10-12 hrs.
This need is indefinite, and should be looked on as a part time employment
position, similar to any one involving a serious commitment.
ANSWER: Sorry to jump in and offer unwanted advice...It sounds as if your very lucky
to have a dad still so physically active, and he, a son so interested in
finding a companion interested in maintaining/facilitating such healthy
activities...But...
Please, insist his cycling be restricted to a bike path, or even trail
riding. Even slight impairments in judgment can have disastrous results when
riding road, regardless of time of day..and especially in Prov.. Any
companion would be able to lend little assist while on a bike in traffic.
He/she would be little more than a spectator in times of trouble. Dumping
your bike is a lot different on a trail or bike path, then with autos
passing by at 25/+ mph.
You may also want to consider having someone get him ready, and drop him off
at a shop ride. Many Bike shops routinely meet for weekly rides at regular
times and trails about RI. Lots of riders, chat, instruction, and
companionship.
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