How do familiies determine which care is needed for aging relative?  Custodial care or Skilled care?  you can read the blog dated June 20th to gain insight in both.  For more information go to WorkingCaregiver.com or email your question to Carol@WorkingCaregiver.com.

Most of us are not part of the medical community many times get confused about which care is needed.. custodial care or skilled care?  An example of the differences are explained in the earlier post in this blog describing the activities of daily living and many of the items on the list (see June 20th post in this blog) are care activities defined custodial care.  The monitoring of vital signs, ordering medical tests, diagnosing medical problems, administering of intravenous injections, prescribing and dispensing medicine, drawing blood, giving shots, dressing wounds, providing therapy and counseling are all activities normally associated with skilled care. But many non-medical  professionals don’t know that skilled and custodial refer to the people who deliver the care not the actual care given.

Skilled care provider also provides services normally thought to be provided by custodial caregivers. Such things as daily living help or activities and the instrumental activities of daily living are often furnished by skilled providers in the course of their treatment. A skilled care plan may include services delivered by a custodial caregiver but it would still be under the skilled plan of care. The professionals delivering custodial services may perform activities “supposedly” reserved for skilled providers.  Services such as taking blood pressure, administering medicines, giving shots or changing wounds might be provided under certain circumstances by a custodial provider.

Always consider that the terms skilled and custodial do not refer to specific types of long term care services but rather who delivers those services. Also the delivery of skilled services must be done under a written plan of care which often includes custodial care services.