WHEN A CAREGIVER NEEDS TIME OFF

For the past few weeks, I have been shouldering the added responsibility of finding a temporary babysitter to watch my darling girls, Chiara Anne and Julianna, ages 3 1/2 and 4 months. My nanny had a family emergency and needed some time off.

My world is in disarray. The schedules are off. The house is a disaster. The baths are less frequent. The dinners are store bought. Now, I have solicited the "volunteerism" of my close friends and my brave mother-in-law to fill in the gaps which has eased the situation. But, at the end of the day, it is scary to lose such an important person who takes care of my family and children. It is impossible for me to feel comfortable with someone new or temporary. Do they know how to make Chiara's eggs exactly the way she likes them so she has a healthy start in the morning. Would they be able to brush Chiara's hair with ease and not pull on those pesty tangles? Could they tell the difference between Julianna's tired and hungry cry?

Children have needs, but if we love, hug and feed them, everything is pure joy. So my predicament is manageable. But what happens in a health care scenario when a patient receiving home health care suddenly loses their licensed nurse or certified caregiver. If I felt panicked without a babysitter, imagine what families go through when their nurse is unable to fill their shift. How do you find a qualified replacement immediately?

Unfortunately, I have seen this happen to so many patients and families. The disruption, angst and stress that incurs when a patient suddenly loses a caregiver is profound. Worry mounts as the patients, often elderly parents, are left without someone to care for them. Adult children living long distances struggle to find temporary caregivers over the phone for mom or dad. Disabled patients struggle to get by while their caregiver is gone.

ENURGI provides a solution to this difficult problem.

ENURGI's care management dashboard allows patients and/or family members to maintain a comprehensive list of caregivers that they can contact at any time - especially in an emergency situation. Users can maintain an active list of contacted, interviewed and hired caregivers during their time as an ENURGI member. So, when a nurse or caregiver suddenly gets sick, moves away or needs time off, a patient can simply refer to their ENURGI caregiver list and find coverage. We are also feverishly working on a special scheduling feature that will, we hope, change the way these caregiver gaps and shortages are filled.

In the meantime, if you are searching for a temporary caregiver to cover a shift or just help out, go to ENURGI and search for local caregivers in your community. And, if you need special assistance, drop us a line or call me directly --- we are sure to have someone for you in our caregiver database of over 1.5 million certified professionals across the country.

Best,
Chiara