My husband owns his own business, do to Grannie's health issues I stay with her 24/7. She has had 4 strokes, has dementia, is a feeder, is bed bound and incontinant. Trying to find out how much would be a reasonable amount to pay someone to sit with her in the weekends so I can work with my husband on those 2 days ( roughly 8-10 hours per day). Would be basically feeding her 3 times a day, changing her britches, bedding if needed bathing if needed. Checking her BP 6-8 times during the day and basically keeping her company during her short waking periods. We are near Houston texas.
I used an Agency for my Dad who was a fall risk. The caregivers were wonderful. Dad got to choose which caregivers he liked the best, and they were on his regular schedule for over a year.
Some agencies may charge more for weekends. Payment is usually pulled from a checking account. I had the Agency pull from my checking account as my Dad's account was always too low.... he would stall when it came to transferring funds into his checking account. Dad did reimburse me.
The agency route is more costly, but it will take a huge amount of hassle off your shoulders.
Private duty (no agency) might run a little more but it would be competitive. Howerver, without an agency if your caregiver gets sick or can't make it for some reason you have no back up. If you went with an agency you would have a back up. Plus, an agency will initially send out an nurse to do an assessement and continue to follow your MIL's care while you are with them.
Something else to consider is if you hire someone privately there are taxes and insurance to consider. Also, what if you hire someone privately and after a few weeks you decide that you don't like the person or they aren't working out as you'd hoped. You'll have to start your search all over again. With an agency you just call them up and ask for someone else.
A benefit to hiring privately is that what you're paying goes right to the caregiver and not being split between an agency and the caregiver. With an agency the caregiver makes much less, usually about $12/hour.
But private vs agency is a personal decision that you have to make depending on what your needs are and what your MIL's needs are.
Have you decided on agency help, private pay?
I would begin comparing a few as well as staffing and reliability, and hourly rates. You will utilize weekend rate for your needs.
Good luck! Search for your local Agency on Aging on the internet & call them to seek out referrals & get guidance, as well as In Home Agency ( minimal aides must be CNAs. to begin your search for caregivers for your mil.