What is a reasonable hourly pay to sit with someone in a nursing home? Possibly 12 or more hours at a time over night?

I see this is for yourself, how much do you feel is appropriate? 12 hours of sitting in a chair watching a person sleep is a long time. Are you sure you're willing to give up your life for this?

You should talk to the potential employer about overtime, taxes and social security, if you do this as an independent contractor you will be paying 15.6% self employment social security and Medicare, you will not have workmans compensation insurance, which means if you get injured helping your client you not only lose your paycheck you will have out of pocket medical expenses. Plus, no group insurance plan available. 

Just food for thought.

Wages should always reflect the average pay for your area, I think the labor board website has the average pay scale on their website. Remember you are looking at a 60 to 84 hour week.

My mom had a daytime “babysitter” who just kept her safe—didn’t do any caregiving—and was paid out of pocket from my mom’s funds $15 p.h. She worked with an agency I’m not certain what their cut was.

Aside from the pay rate and making sure an outside caregiver is allowed to sit with the patient all night, there might be stipulations on what the caregiver is allowed to actually do. The caregiver would not be an employee of the facility and may find herself having to alert staff to her patient's overnight needs as opposed to taking care of the patient herself.

Yes, staying awKe in a chair to assist person to the bathroom and attend to her when needed. The very large woman does not sleep much. But is very needed.

Spanky, you mentioned the person would be doing night shift. Will that person be required to stay awake during that time? First you need to make sure the nursing home allows outside caregivers to come in. The nursing home will need to vet that person due to the safety of the other residents.

Reasonable hourly pay is whatever is the going rate in your area. Some places minimum wage. Doing night shift, some places charge more as awake night shift personnel are hard to find. Licensed Agencies could charge $20-$30/hour.

Pay is all negotiable if you are using a relative, friend, or an independent contractor [one who doesn't work for an Agency]. Will payroll taxes be taken out of the pay?

Make sure there is an employment agreement drawn up saying how many hours per day, how many day during the week, the hourly rate, and what is required of that person.