I am in New Jersey and will pay out of my pocket. Mom will visit from India and she will get nervous if I leave the house for 4 hrs. She has mild dementia (I think) ...no formal diagnosis yet. I know the rate varies all over USA but what's a decent average? The person will just sit next to mom and keep assuring her that I will be back soon. Thank you.
The companion was asking $20/hour but had a great deal of experience and ws highly recommended by a house of worship staff. This was 6 years ago! You can ask neighbors and friends for recommendations. Perhaps a college student studying in the medical field? Or an out of work neighbor. As someone else suggested, I told my Mom that my friend needed references to work with seniors.
If Mom protests too much, assure you that "you hired 'Mary' because she's the daughter of a friend, and in need of temporary job." You're doing your friend a favor.
I would definitely check with others if there is an active ethnic community that you can tap into. Hopefully they can recommend some good caregivers.
I don't know about volunteers in the Indian community - have to look into this..thank you!
Please don't pick just anyone. Either go through a service or possibly pick someone you know that is capable of caring for her. If you choose a licensed caregiving service, you have someone that answers to you should something go wrong. It also means that the caregivers are trained to work with the elderly and know basic first aid/cpr.
I will say that if you'll look up at the top bar of this page, there's a place to click that says "Find Care". It's a wonderful, free service provided by this website. They give you the names of several companies in your area that provide care.
Good luck!
You may be able to find a person to "babysit" for much less, but would the person be experienced with someone who has dementia. Dementia is a learning curve, thus someone not familiar might say things that would upset your Mom. Such as trying to correct Mom on what Mom says, which isn't a good thing to do with dementia.
Actually your Mom should be paying this expense, not you.
With an Agency, you may request someone who speaks Mom's native language.