A Foreign Caregiver Desperately Needed Don’t You Think
So?
Having a live-in caregiver means you have your beloved one taken care of 24 hour care at home. It is really around
the clock care and you could always take a break. In Taiwan, most of the elderly prefer to live in their own
house for as long as possible, where they live in familiar surroundings and
have feeling toward the memories.
It smells stale and the scent of death when she gets into this house.
It seemed to
inhale the air like sickness and decay his daughter felt every time she visited
her father.
He knew he might
keel over when he felt a little light-headed. He told himself
to find a chair to sit down immediately. Being alone, life became bizarre and
frightening. He was aware of that the best days of his life were now behind him.
He remembered it
seemed not long time ago whenever he farted at random in front of his wife, who
blamed him for that. Since he outlived her, it wasn’t a little bother for him
to blame it on his dog as a scapegoat. He had wished she had stopped nagging
for the trivial things, but he missed those days if she could have been around.
Sleeping at night was a dream which shouldn’t ever come true he realized. He could only take catnaps a half-hour here and there while TV was on day and night. The phone was quiet and never made a ring tone for weeks.
He’d been in
nearly constant unknown pain for almost a year. When it set in, it raised his
blood pressure at least thirty points, crushing his chest. It was worse than
the physical injuries he sustained.
It was her father
himself dialed 119 (in Taiwan instead of 911) and then passed out.
Once he was
hospitalized, it was so easy to lose track of time in the twilight of hospital living. He
couldn’t recall of how often his daughter came to visit him, where his son was,
and how long exactly he stayed there. He could feel the embarrassment of an effusive
embrace he received from his daughter. Tears were threatening in his own when
he saw the tears dropped from her eyes. Her breath tightened when she felt her
father’s bad breath was still short and
his pulse was pounding. She didn’t know how to calm his racing heart, and hers
too.
His pale skin and hollow cheeks were hardly recognizable to his daughter. He walked awkwardly toward the bathroom on his weak but lead-like legs, carrying an oxygen tank in one hand and the elbow of the other nudging the door.
The torment was obvious on his face propped up by pillows, lying in bed, clenching his teeth and managing a rueful but brave smile. Her gooseflesh rose on her skin and took alarm at what she was facing. However, he croaked a request to keep his daughter on her normal routine as much as possible to visit him or whenever it was convenient for her.
Throughout her
long vigil,
the day’s events played in her head, and she hadn’t slept a wink as if sleeping were a waste of time when she could
be staring at her father. It made her fearful and uneasy.
She didn’t mind
having meals at the hospital, which was only filling. She met her younger brother on his rounds. He’d be sitting next to her and trying to bite off
his hangnails. She did not know why but it did annoy her.
The thought of selling their home and possessions to move into a nursing home frightens them and is not an option when they can act at will. If they are left alone and health is deteriorating, actually they gradually realize that they are getting older and begin to face the fact that they can no longer do everything as they once did. It is the time to take it into consideration to have a need of caregiver, especially when they still could make a decision and when their children fail to live with or take care of them.
It is true that the health of elderly people deteriorate quickly generally, leaving them less capable of dealing things on their own in a relatively short period of time. As a matter of fact, the new measure can better support them by making more manpower available assist them, according to what the Minister of Labor declared (The China Post, Government announces plan to relax restrictions on hiring foreign caregivers, August 9 in 2015).
Under existing regulations, senior citizens beyond the age 80, diagnosed to be badly in need of home care. Besides, the score of the Barthel Index is below 60. Those senior citizens are entitled to hire a foreign caregiver.
The Barthel Index is a scale which is used to measure the extent to which people can function independently in their daily life.
A live-in caregiver in Taiwan
The Minister of Labor said on Friday (August 7 in 2015) it relaxed restrictions on hiring foreign caregivers for the elderly with minor disabilities, starting from Saturday. It is a move aimed to benefit 35,000 senior citizens in Taiwan who need live-in caregivers.
The new rules are expected to expand the criteria of those eligible to hire a foreign caregiver to anyone aged 85 or above who meets at least one variable addressed in the Barthel Index.
It is true that the health of elderly people deteriorate quickly generally, leaving them less capable of dealing things on their own in a relatively short period of time. As a matter of fact, the new measure can better support them by making more manpower available assist them, according to what the Minister of Labor declared (The China Post, Government announces plan to relax restrictions on hiring foreign caregivers, August 9 in 2015).
Under existing regulations, senior citizens beyond the age 80, diagnosed to be badly in need of home care. Besides, the score of the Barthel Index is below 60. Those senior citizens are entitled to hire a foreign caregiver.
Those under the age of 80 must be considered to have the need of full-time assistance at home and whose score is less than 35 on the Barthel Index. They are also eligible for hiring a foreign caregiver.
The Barthel Index is a scale which is used to measure the extent to which people can function independently in their daily life.
The ten variables are applied in the Barthel scale shown as below:
- presence or absence of fecal incontinence
- presence or absence of urinary incontinence
- help needed with grooming
- help needed with toilet use
- help needed with feeding
- help needed with transfers (e.g. from chair to bed)
- help needed with walking
- help needed with dressing
- help needed with climbing stairs
- and help needed with bathing
It is impossible to find a full-time local live-in caregiver in Taiwan because people can’t afford it. A foreign caregiver is the only hope left, a must needed for the elderly, even though she can speak some simple words or make body language to communicate with others in the beginning.
It is believed that some foreign caregivers have medical training and practical on-the-job experience. She also can do meal preparation, housekeeping and doing laundry.
Salary of a foreign caregiver monthly averagely paid by the employer in Taiwan:
The employer goes to the expenses of hiring a caregiver every month:
17,500 (base salary)+2,333 (overwork on Sundays)+955 (insurance fee)+2000 (settlement fee) + 10,000 (cost generally for boarding) +1,800 (service fee) =34,580
(Excluding the return ticket paid by the employer every three year)
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