Caregiver

Description: This position provides custodial and personal care services to clients that contract with Assisting Hands for services under the direction of the Staffing Coordinator in compliance with the Plan of Care.

Education: High School Diploma/GED required

Qualifications: One (1) year experience in the home or long-term care setting is preferred.

Reports to: Staffing Coordinator

Primary Duties:

1. Maintaining a clean, safe, and healthy environment within client’s residence. Duties may include light cleaning and straightening of the bathroom, straightening the sleeping and living areas, washing client's dishes or laundry, and other tasks to maintain cleanliness and safety for the client.
2. The performance of all personal care activities contained in a written Plan of Care which may include assisting the client with personal hygiene, ambulation and exercise, eating, dressing, shaving, physical transfer, and other duties as assigned.
3. Providing nutritional support as needed.
4. Reporting changes in the client’s condition.
5. Other activities that are determined necessary and trained on for a specific client and are restricted to the following: 

• Assisting with the use of devices for aid to daily living such as a wheelchair, walker, or hoyer lift;
• Assisting with prescribed range of motion exercises;
• Teaching household routine and skills to well members of the family;
• Measuring intake and output of fluids;
• Measuring and recording temperature, pulse, respiration or blood pressure; 
• Keeping records of personal health care activities; 
• Observing appearance and gross behavioral changes in the client and reporting to the agency supervisor.

Assisting the client with the self-administration of medication, limited to the following tasks:

Taking the medication in its previously dispensed, properly labeled container, from where it is stored and bringing it to the client.

In the presence of the client, reading the label, opening the container, removing a prescribed amount of medication from the container, and closing the container. 

• Placing an oral dosage in the client's hand or placing the dosage in another container and helping the client by lifting the container to his or her mouth.

Returning the medication container to proper storage.

Keeping a record of when a client receives assistance with self-administration of medication.

The caregiver may also provide the following assistance with self-administered medication, as needed by the client:

1. Preparing necessary items such as juice, water, cups, or spoons to assist the client in the self-administration of medication; 
2. Opening and closing the medication container or tearing the foil of prepackaged medications;
3. Assisting the client in the self-administration process.  Examples of such assistance include the steadying of the arm, hand, or other parts of the client's body so as to allow the self-administration of medication;
4. Abides by the agency’s infection control policies, including proper hand washing techniques consistent with CDC Guidelines.
5. Abides by all policies and procedures outlined in the agency’s Policy and Procedure Manual, Caregiver Handbook, and Caregiver Training Manual.

Hours:  Dependent on assignment; Shifts available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week and based on availability.  Assisting Hands does not guarantee hours.

FLSA Status: Non-exempt, hourly