HOMECARE ASSISTANT
Join Our Team: HomeCare Assistant, Senior Resource Center at Family Service
Effective Date: Immediately
Overcoming One of the Biggest Challenges in Advanced Aging: Living Independently
As they advance in the aging process, many older adults struggle with changes in mobility, managing pain, navigating the onset of dementia of oneself or one’s spouse, and/or growing unease with driving. Tasks that were once automatic can become overwhelming.
Our HomeCare Assistants offer a middle-ground solution. They provide non-medical, supportive care to clients, making it possible for older adults to live in their homes for as long as possible.
Your Role as a HomeCare Assistant
As HomeCare Assistant, you’ll be a key team member who rallies around your clients, giving them ground-level help with tasks they can no longer manage comfortably. Every client has a specific care plan that outlines exactly what will be done. Each client is different, of course, but the following are typical tasks in our care plans. This means you’ll be:
- Keeping the proverbial home fires burning by helping with groceries, meal prep, laundry, and cleaning, which keeps the client in an environment that is both clean, comfortable, and nourishing.
- Being the client’s travel partner by driving them to appointments or to the store. For trips to the grocery store, you’ll bring groceries in and put them away, as well. (You'll need access to a reliable vehicle car for this.)
- Assisting with bathing, grooming, dressing, transferring, supervision, and medication reminders in accordance with the client’s care plan.
- Providing positive, uplifting companionship to the client.
Outside of client care, we need to keep detailed, accurate records. Part of caring for clients is documenting. That means you’ll be:
- Recording tasks completed for the client each day.
- Keeping a close eye on your clients and reporting back to your supervisor about changes in function, mental health, or cognitive status that you observe. This gives clients an extra layer of protection – it is often the case that you’ll notice subtle changes before family members or medical staff who see them less frequently.
- Reporting any unsafe or unhealthy elements of their living environment.
Again, all these activities are provided in strict accordance with the care plan for each client.
Our HomeCare assistants are part of our team, and as such, they participate in staff meetings and trainings. We have robust procedures and guidelines to help you do the best work you can for the clients, and we work with all our HomeCare assistants to understand, interpret, and put the policies and procedures into practice.
Who You Are: The Ideal Candidate
First, do you have interest in working with older adults? This is our most successful HomeCare Assistants’ best asset.
If you are the ideal candidate, you have a high school diploma, GED, or at least one year of directly related experience, particularly with the aging population. CNAs are a great fit for this position.
You’ll have the following abilities and availability:
- A reliable vehicle with standard safety features, a valid driver’s license, and insurance appropriate to transport clients
- Can work at least 10 hours per week during business hours
- Cordial and friendly with clients, maintaining professionalism and kindness at all times
- Willing to be flexible – things can change quickly in this industry, and we roll with it
- Organized and efficient with minimum supervision
- Respectful of various lifestyles, cultures, temperaments, and needs
- Communication: Can read and write for necessary record-keeping (we’re not terribly picky about spelling)
- Accessible by phone
- Can complete the HomeCare Assistant training program successfully
- Can successfully complete a background check:
- Employment will be conditional pending compliance with Illinois Department of Public Health licensure regulations: Does not have a disqualifying background check under the requirements of the Health Care Worker Background Check Act without a waiver in compliance with the Health Care Worker Background Check Act [225 ILCS 46] and the Health Care Worker Background Check Code (77 Ill. Adm. Code 955)
The Family Service Culture
Family Service has a culture that is reflected in our name: We are both family-focused (both the families we serve and the families we are from), and we pride ourselves on being strongly service oriented. We are cultivating a workplace that is humble and diligent – a place where you can enjoy your coworkers, be proud of your impact, and always look for new and better ways to enhance our community by meeting its needs. We train our people thoroughly and consider ourselves a training ground for being the best humanity has to offer. If you are looking for a position in an organization that values kindness, fresh ideas, hard work, and going the extra mile to help our clients and our community, Family Service might be the place for you. (Of course, we’re an Equal Opportunity Employer.)
The Package
Hourly rate of $18.75; $19.25 for those with a CNA
12 paid holidays per year
PTO starts accruing at time of hire (with a maximum accrual bank of 200 hours) and can be taken after 90 days.
Life insurance
If we’re describing you, let’s talk. Send us your resumé and cover letter.
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time
Pay: $18.75 - $19.25 per hour
Benefits:
- Flexible schedule
- Life insurance
- Mileage reimbursement
- Paid orientation
- Paid time off
- Paid training
- Safety equipment provided
Work Location: On the road
