Caregivers Support Group

Here it's anywhere from $14.00 too $22.00/hour for just a "caregiver" to sit with my husband, keep him company, dump the urinal etc. but she can't administer meds, can't take care of a feeding tube, but will change a diaper, help with a bath.... $40.00/hour or so for a nurse who can administer medications, give a feeding tube feeding, etc..

Heck, wish I made $40.00/hour because that's what I do! LOL

Nice of your family to pay you. I'd suggest $15.00/hour?? Just my thought.

My best,
Molly

Hello Aurorio,

I am a caregiver for my husband that is appointed to him through the Department of Veteran Affairs. Though it is an unpaid position, part of my package deal with them besides access to respite care and counseling is a stipend I receive. I am posting the link that they used to determine what rate to pay at per hour. The pay at the 75% rate according to whatever state the caregiver lives in. It can get quite confusing but the gist of it is that the national average for a Home Health Aide is $11.52 and hour. Most agencies pay out at the 50%. Here is a link so you can further research this and I am sure your family really appreciates all that you do for your grandmother.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes3...

thanks for the great replies already! it's tough to know what to ask for, especially since I'm wondering about the aide we have through the agency. I'm wondering how much of that rate actually goes to her and how much goes to the agency. My mom (my grandmother's daughter) suggested the same as the agency aide ($23), but I worry that is a lot!

There's a program in my State that pays aides or family members to care for loved ones at home. They realized it's cheaper to have people in their homes than in nursing homes.

They pay for companionship, $8.82/hr and personal care, $10.14/hr. With a cost of living raise every year.

Because you care for your grandmother 24/7, paying by the hour probably isn't a good way to look at pay. Because you are a 24/7 caregiver, you are keeping your grandmother out of a nursing home or extended stay hospital unit, which in both cases costs several thousand dollars per month. When I take my "vacation" from 24/7 caregiving, I pay the respite caregiver $100/day plus room and board rather than an hourly rate. My respite caregivers are satisfied with that, and I can afford that for a week of vacation. I would suggest something similar for pay being offered by family. Compared to $4000-$8000 per month at a nursing home, and the work involved for you, $2000-$3000/month for your services shouldn't be out of line in my opinion. So rather than an hourly rate, suggest a daily, weekly, or monthly rate that is satisfactory for you and your family. Realize too, you will be responsible for income taxes, and social security taxes out of those wages received since you are being paid for services.

I'm just getting started on getting paid to care for my daughter who was seriously injured by a drunk driver almost a year ago. The agency I go through whom is reimbursed by the state pays from 9.50 to 10.20 an hr depending on the level of care (i.e. low to moderate or moderate to high). I think were pretty lucky to just be getting paid and 23 an hr is great for caregiving of a family member. I think that is alot to ask but if you get no breaks you deserve it!

thanks for all the great, supportive and constructive comments! caregiving, I have realized, is really tough to explain as a per hour job, because in reality I am home with her almost 24 hours a day. we have also seen more of decline in the last few months so that is sad, and sometimes hard to deal with. but we're getting through it okay and i'll get paid some so that eventually when I don't care for her any longer I will be in a position to take care of myself and not have to worry about relying on anyone or asking for help.