Does anyone have any experience with any of the elderly service providers for Galveston County in Texas? My mom is eligible for 21 hours a week for a caregiver, but it has to be one of the providers on their provider list. I would like to get one that someone has used and was happy with their care. Has anyone used any of the agencies in Galveston County?
fwiw not unusual for counties to have waiting lists. Retaining staff is really hard.
You may want to contact whatever they are calling “Senior social services dept” over @ UTMB. There will be a staffed department somewhere within the health science center campus that does senior / gerontology outreach. Also you could contact Galveston County Health Dept which too has senior outreach; it has offices on the island and the mainland (I think it’s in LaMarque). They both will have a tie in to the regional Area Council on Aging which has its main office in Houston and helps folks link to services. The AoA is a funded but freestanding entity of the Houston Galveston Area Council which does regional planning for abt 8 counties in transportation, health and other areas that get Federal $ that have cross county jurisdictions. HGAC is very well funded, it’s your tax dollars at work.
as an aside, if your elder is not seeing docs @ UTMB, I’d really suggest that they switch to be a patient within UTMB.
I strongly agree with holding out for an aid who is experienced with working with elders with dementia.
Social Media. In this case it might be a good thing.
Look for reviews that people post.
If you have a Group like "buy nothing Galveston" you could post a "In search Of" and ask if people have suggestions or have used a particular agency.
I would also interview a few of the agencies and ask questions.
How do they handle a caregiver that calls in sick at the last minute? What would they do if the caregiver does not show up and you have to leave?
What will the caregiver do and what will they not do?
And what exactly do you need the caregiver to do for mom? Is this companion caregiving, light housework, is mom continent, is mom active or not?
**Oh, just read your profile..so many have not been giving info I sometimes forget to check.
Mom is incontinent so the caregiver will be changing her, and mom does have dementia. You want a caregiver that has experience with dementia. So ask about the experience the caregiver has with dementia.
And...if the caregiver they send does not "click" after a week or so how long will it take to get another caregiver.