Professional Travel Companion (ADL Assistance)

[jlvlaw]

I would appreciate any feedback or description of your experience using a professional companion service that traveled with someone who needed ADL assistance. We're trying to find a way to take my dad on a cruise. He's in assisted living and needs help with several ADLs. I want him to be able to maintain his dignity while traveling.

 

• Some prelim questions:
• What to expect from the service?
• How involved were they?
• Were they dedicated to a single person or could they assist 2 travelers that need help?
• Was it better to have door-to-door help or did you pick up the service at port of embarkation? - We will have a short direct flight.

 

Appreciate any info.

 

 

 

[GeezerCouple]

19 minutes ago, jlvlaw said:

I would appreciate any feedback or description of your experience using a professional companion service that traveled with someone who needed ADL assistance. We're trying to find a way to take my dad on a cruise. He's in assisted living and needs help with several ADLs. I want him to be able to maintain his dignity while traveling.

 

• Some prelim questions:
• What to expect from the service?
• How involved were they?
• Were they dedicated to a single person or could they assist 2 travelers that need help?
• Was it better to have door-to-door help or did you pick up the service at port of embarkation? - We will have a short direct flight.

 

Appreciate any info.

 

There were some good posts about this several years ago.  (Maybe someone else is better at CC searches than I am!)

 

Anyway, there are "professional services".

But there are also other ways to find "help".

Is there a nursing school near you?  An employment office?  This could make. a rather unusual work/vacation for someone. (Make sure the hours/boundaries are agreed upon up front.)

(I once contacted a local college that specialized in childhood education, to get an "after school companion" for my children who were still a bit too young to be home alone after school.  We used the term "companion" rather than "babysitter" for the children. 😉 )

Ask at your physician's office, or the hospital's "social services" department for suggestions.

The ALF may have suggestions as well.  In that case, you could "meet" some potential helpers by hiring them for a few shifts to help him before deciding, etc.
When MIL was in an ALF, we found agencies through the ALF, and she definitely had some "favorites" during the time she needed extra help there.

 

You'd need to get appropriate accommodations, with enough privacy for everyone.

 

The "degree of involvement" would depend upon what was needed and what the aide was able/willing to do.  All subject to very clear advance agreement!

Personally, we've already discussed that IF something like that were to become necessary, we'd much rather travel a bit less and pay for the "help" rather than not travel at all, or travel and have a really difficult time.

 

Note:  I would MUCH rather pay for the airfare and have a chance to get to know the person, rather than meeting them as the ship sails.  But that's up to each individual.

Do check references *carefully*, obviously!

 

Good luck!

 

GC

[shadow 123]

9 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

There were some good posts about this several years ago.  (Maybe someone else is better at CC searches than I am!)

 

Anyway, there are "professional services".

But there are also other ways to find "help".

Is there a nursing school near you?  An employment office?  This could make. a rather unusual work/vacation for someone. (Make sure the hours/boundaries are agreed upon up front.)

(I once contacted a local college that specialized in childhood education, to get an "after school companion" for my children who were still a bit too young to be home alone after school.  We used the term "companion" rather than "babysitter" for the children. 😉 )

Ask at your physician's office, or the hospital's "social services" department for suggestions.

The ALF may have suggestions as well.  In that case, you could "meet" some potential helpers by hiring them for a few shifts to help him before deciding, etc.
When MIL was in an ALF, we found agencies through the ALF, and she definitely had some "favorites" during the time she needed extra help there.

 

You'd need to get appropriate accommodations, with enough privacy for everyone.

 

The "degree of involvement" would depend upon what was needed and what the aide was able/willing to do.  All subject to very clear advance agreement!

Personally, we've already discussed that IF something like that were to become necessary, we'd much rather travel a bit less and pay for the "help" rather than not travel at all, or travel and have a really difficult time.

 

Note:  I would MUCH rather pay for the airfare and have a chance to get to know the person, rather than meeting them as the ship sails.  But that's up to each individual.

Do check references *carefully*, obviously!

 

Good luck!

 

GC

What is an ADL? What is an ALF? This could be very useful information for me. Thank you

[GeezerCouple]

19 minutes ago, shadow 123 said:

What is an ADL? What is an ALF? This could be very useful information for me. Thank you

 

I was responding to jlvlaw, who wrote:

 

10 hours ago, jlvlaw said:

someone who needed ADL assistance. We're trying to find a way to take my dad on a cruise. He's in assisted living and needs help with several ADLs

and 

10 hours ago, jlvlaw said:

He's in assisted living and needs help with several ADLs

I'm assuming that "ADL" means something like Activities of Daily Living.

And and ALF is an Assisted Living Facilty.

The need for help with a certain number of ADLs (dressing, feeding, etc.) is usually what determines eligibility for payments from something like Long Term Care insurance.

 

Sorry that neither jlvlaw nor I defined those terms.

I suppose we are both so used to them that they are second nature, as they often are to people involved with these issues.

 

BTW, other residential type acronyms you might come across are "SN" for Skilled Nursing, and "IL" for Independent Living.  These two tend to bracket ALF care, and many facilities include care starting from IL to ALF to SN, and some also include "MC" (Memory Care).  There might be other acronyms or abbreviations for these, of course...

 

GC

[shadow 123]

4 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

I was responding to jlvlaw, who wrote:

 

and 

I'm assuming that "ADL" means something like Activities of Daily Living.

And and ALF is an Assisted Living Facilty.

The need for help with a certain number of ADLs (dressing, feeding, etc.) is usually what determines eligibility for payments from something like Long Term Care insurance.

 

Sorry that neither jlvlaw nor I defined those terms.

I suppose we are both so used to them that they are second nature, as they often are to people involved with these issues.

 

BTW, other residential type acronyms you might come across are "SN" for Skilled Nursing, and "IL" for Independent Living.  These two tend to bracket ALF care, and many facilities include care starting from IL to ALF to SN, and some also include "MC" (Memory Care).  There might be other acronyms or abbreviations for these, of course...

 

GC

Thank you

[jlvlaw]

Thank you, GC. I'll try searching here again. I came up short. I'll also follow up on the suggestions you gave. 

[1025cruise]

You might want to check with the assisted living and any insurance you have to see if it's even permissible to take dad out to go on a cruise. A lot of those places have rules on how long someone can be gone before and why they are gone (even if you are still paying) before they are considered abandoning the slot. Assuming this isn't an issue, I wish you luck in your endeavors. Sounds like something nice to do for dad.

[Silver Sweethearts]

On 6/13/2024 at 1:24 PM, jlvlaw said:

Was it better to have door-to-door help or did you pick up the service at port of embarkation? 

 

Our daughter is a quadriplegic and has cruised with us since she was six (she is now in her early 50's), so believe us when we say compatibility is of utmost importance.  Do not go in cold with this.  Have potential candidates come to stay for a weekend or days to see if they compliment each other and "click".

Edited June 16 by Silver Sweethearts