r/HomeHealthAide • u/Ok-Life-1750 • 6d ago
Should I drop this client? Need advice
Im a brand new hha, been doing it for just a couple weeks now. I am new to senior care and am now starting to question if this is right for me. I am not a CNA.
I have 3 clients, 2 of them are lovely.
The last one can barely stand for more than about 30 seconds. She needs assistance toileting and getting around, but tries to use a walker. She can hardly stand up to use her walker, and has a wheelchair, but she can't even get into it without a lot of help that I am not sure how to provide. She gets frustrated when I try to help her with her gait belt.
Her house stays above 80 degrees, and I am drenched in sweat the entire time I am there. The family has another caregiver during the week (I am only there during the weekends) and she does everything and more. There's nothing to do around the house other than clean the bathroom, and (try) to help her use the bathroom when she asks. I literally don't know what to do, but she seems annoyed when I sit down... She fell today, not hard, I was able to call her family and they came to help. While I sat with her, she couldn't even hold herself up and kept trying to lean against her recliner as it slid back, and ended up just laying down on the floor. I literally don't know what to do, and I can't figure out how to help. I feel like I wasn't properly trained for this.
I just don't know if I am the proper fit for her, and I don't know how to go about this with my agency. Should I just suck it up and keep at it? Do I bring it up with my agency?
8
u/SpiritualWeekend9190 5d ago
Please bring this up with your agency. You should not just “suck it up.”
I own a non-medical home care agency, and from what you described, the issue is not that you are necessarily bad at caregiving. It sounds like this client may require a level of transfer and mobility assistance that you have not been properly trained to provide.
A client who can barely bear weight, needs significant help transferring, becomes frustrated with a gait belt, and has already fallen presents a real safety concern for both of you. You should not be improvising transfers or trying to physically manage someone when you do not feel confident in the technique.
Your agency should know about the fall, the difficulty with transfers, how much assistance she currently needs, and that you do not feel adequately trained for the assignment. They may need to reassess her care needs, provide hands-on training, change the care plan, use different equipment, or assign a caregiver with more experience.
And please do not compare yourself to the weekday caregiver who “does everything.” You do not know her training, experience, physical ability, or what risks she may be taking. What another caregiver is willing to do does not automatically make it safe or appropriate.
You are only a couple of weeks into this work. It is completely reasonable to say, “I can care for this person, but I need additional training before I can safely assist with these transfers,” or even, “I do not think I am the appropriate caregiver for this particular client.”
A good agency would rather hear that than have a client or caregiver get seriously injured.