FEATURED JOB OPENING: Working Couple to provide caregiving to elderly couple - Santa Fe, NM

Caregiver Santa Fe New Mexico – Information If you are ready to really make a difference in the life of two lovely people, this may be a position for you.

I am looking for live in care for my parents in their home in Santa Fe, NM. The home in Santa Fe is approximately 5000 sq. feet. You would have you own bedroom and bath in the house. The home is 5 minutes from downtown Santa Fe in a nice, wooded neighborhood.

My father is 88 years old, my mother is 80. Both of them have emphysema and are on oxygen 24/7. They have oxygen makers at home, but bottles are delivered to the house for emergency if the power goes out. They also use oxygen bottles when the leave the house. My mother especially needs to be watched.

My mother: She is a fall risk and must be monitored when she goes down to the bathroom or wants to get out of her easy chair to come to the table for a meal. She needs to get exercise. This is done by walking the halls with her walker every day. She has a bad back and is fairly frail. She does not like to leave the house. She does not leave her easy chair much during the day unless it is for a meal or a walk. It would be great if someone could be gentle and inspiring to help her get exercise. She is a picky eater but if a meal is being made that she does not enjoy, she loves a scrambled egg a toast while everyone else ‘experiments’ with food. She is a sweet, frail, woman who gets hours of entertainment from her iPad daily. She should have help with showering and dressing. She really isn’t accepting this yet but it needs to happen. The right loving person would be a great asset in this area.

My father: Although my father’s emphysema is more advanced than my mom’s, he likes to get out much more often than my mother does. From time-to-time he enjoys a trip to the grocery store or Home Depot, or other such places. He has a good appetite and likes to be involved in selecting recipes and such. Papa should have help with showering too. He needs help perhaps getting shoes on, putting lotion on his legs and these types of personal things.

The dog: Their dog is small, about 20 pounds, also elderly, very spoiled. He sleeps with them. He needs to be looked after as well. He has a special diet that is cooked for him. He needs to be watched when he goes out into the yard.

The job entails monitoring my Mom especially for safety, helping her with her walks, being wonderful to both of them. Cooking, shopping and keeping the kitchen really clean are a big deal. They have one main meal a day and that is generally dinner. Lunch is something like a half a sandwich with some fresh fruit or a salad. Breakfast is a small bowl of cereal or an egg and toast. They LOVE baked goods and dessert. The basic list of duties includes:

• Cooking – nice, good, healthy, fun cooking!

• Cleaning the kitchen and kitchen floor after each meal • Shopping for groceries

• Going to the post office or other errands

• Taking them to Dr. appointments or for haircuts and such • Picking up the dog poop from the yard daily

• Ensuring medications are filled and taken at the proper times

• Watering house plants

• Keeping the bird feeders filled

• Checking and setting mouse traps

• Assisting my Mom with her walks,  always making sure you are present if she goes down to the bathroom

• Ensure the humidifiers are clean and have water

• In the winter if snow, the front porch steps and below need to swept off for everyone’s safety. If there is a large amount of snow we call someone to clear it and the driveway

• There is a small yard that needs tending. A very small lawn to mow and watering of potted flowers.

• My parents like to eat out on a lovely portal they have in the summers. This needs to be hosed down and mopped as necessary.

They have a person that cleans the house on a weekly basis. That person is not responsible for keeping your own personal quarters. It is important though that the care provider is conscientious and treats the home like it is their own as it is their own. For example, if it snows, take the time to sweep or shovel the front walk, or notices little things and takes care of them. For example, untangling their oxygen hoses when they get tangled as opposed to just walking over them. Not letting mold build up in their humidifier, taking loving care of the little things that really matter.

My Dad gets up pretty early, my Mom later. They take a nap every day. They watch movies or something on TV every night and generally go to bed about 10:00pm or so. We are looking for someone who will turn the lights off when they are not being used, conscientious about water use, keeps their own rooms clean, these types of things. They are not up at night. You do keep a child-monitor in your room. If my Mom needs to get up to go to the bathroom, you need to get up to help her. You would always be driving their car.

The pay for the couple is 45K to 48K per year depending on experience, plus room and board. You work 5 days on and have two days off. All state and federal taxes are withheld so you do get social security benefits. This can be paid to one person, or split, it’s really up to you. They pay twice a month. Health insurance is not provided. They have their own car for you to drive when caring for them or running errands for them.

You don’t have to leave the house on your days off but you can if you have somewhere you would rather be. For your days off, you would need your own car as the care provider for those days uses their car. The work is really too much for one person, and not nearly enough to keep two people busy, but it’s a long day so we feel two are best. You can keep one another company. Maybe one person gets up early to deal with the morning tasks and the other stays up later to deal with the final task of getting mom into bed. They do want for you to share meals with them so it feels like family but they don’t like to be hovered over constantly. This is the reason for the baby monitors so they can call you if they need to. Mama is always supposed to call if she needs to get up. Cleanliness is a big deal to them, to all of us really. Good food and thoughtful care. This is what we are looking for. If you are still interested please let me know and we will go to the next step. Thanks for your consideration.