How to best find drop-in help for a limited time period

June 30, 2015 1:24 PM

How would you go about finding a helper for a short drop-in every day for about 5 - 7 days? I would way prefer to pay someone to do this than to ask my friends for the favor.

I'm going to have surgery in August and while I don't expect to be completely immobilized, there are some things that I don't think I'll be able to do easily for a few days to a week. If my insurance covered it, I'd probably try to get something like a CNA so that my dressings could be changed as well as other household chores, but that's pie in the sky.

So essential items are: stop in, clean the cat litter box, maybe feed the cats, maybe change my sheets once during that time frame, and be willing to go to the store if I need a grocery or two. Maybe drop off/pick up laundry at my local wash & fold spot.

In a perfect unrealistic world, it would be great if the helper were also able to help me bathe or help wash my hair once or twice, and to change my dressings and empty my drains (not because I can't do that part but because I *think* it's just easier for a second person to do it).

Also, possibly unrealistically, I would love to not pay more than $50 per hour for this and I would love for the person to be relatively flexible in timing, so if they came by and did the cat chores, and I didn't need anything else, I would only pay for, say, 20 minutes.

I was thinking about Task Rabbit and I was also considering just having the cat stuff taken care of through my usual cat-sitter, but what am I forgetting? Is there another source that I could be using?

posted by janey47 to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

Maybe try posting in the Jobs section here, or in similar posting sections of other communities you may be a part of? Having a connection (even if it's a vague one) through an existing link may make it slightly more comfortable for you. (And also for the helper - speaking from personal comfort levels, this isn't something I'd ever do for a complete stranger, but something I'd strongly consider doing for a friend-of-a-friend, acquaintance, or someone I had something in common with. It knocks down the "potentially creepy offer" factor.)
posted by okayokayigive at 1:30 PM on June 30, 2015

NextDoor.com is great for things like this! All users have to get verified via their credit card and live in the neighborhood, which really cuts down on the creepy stranger/internet troll factor. It also leads to better prices and schedule flexibility (at least in my neighborhood) since these are people next door who don't have to travel far to help you, and they can be a retiree/student/etc. Otherwise, you can get a Home Care company to do this, their prices are going to be in the $25/hour range. Good luck with your surgery!
posted by rada at 1:32 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

Maybe post a job notice on a bulletin board at a local college/nursing school? College students are often up for some kind of short-term, flexible hours thing and they are educated and so on. I have had positive experiences with college students for that kind of job (not that I personally hired them, but things I participated in that were only open a few hours a week, etc -- the college students in relevant degree programs were, by far, the better employees).
posted by Michele in California at 1:59 PM on June 30, 2015

Yeah, I had the same thought about nursing students, although the ones I know are heinously busy most of the time, but presumably in August most of them will be out of school and, as with all students, in need of some extra cash.
posted by poffin boffin at 2:06 PM on June 30, 2015

Home care companies are fine. Around here they are $30/hr with a 3 hour minimum. If you can afford it just take the 3 hours. Get your meals prepped and dishes done along with other errands, chores, and bathing.
posted by crazycanuck at 2:12 PM on June 30, 2015 [3 favorites]

Can you split the task? All your "essentials" sound like things a high school kid could do, or a college kid home for summer. Then you could separately look for someone to do the more complicated dressings and bathing, and be able to pay more for that and less for the unskilled tasks.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 2:27 PM on June 30, 2015 [3 favorites]

I might try care.com, which mostly staffs nannies/babysitters but also has some personal care folks. I bet if you put up a job and described exactly what you needed you would get lots of interest.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 2:38 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

I had surgery and actually used a cat-sitter to do all of the essential things on your list. She was someone I'd used before for regular cat-sitting and I talked to her and said it's okay if you're not interested in a bigger job but I'll pay $30 an hour instead of $15 for just a cat visit. She didn't help me shower or anything but I did shower while she was there in case something went wrong. It worked perfectly and I'd do it again.
posted by kate blank at 5:08 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Victorian Order of Nurses would be my first stop (http://www.von.ca). They have a couple of locations in Vancouver and provide the services you are looking for either for free or for a reasonable price.
posted by saucysault at 6:31 PM on June 30, 2015

I had a home care company send someone for a few days after Nanopanda was born. It was $20/hr, probably 4 hr minimum? I don't know if they would do dressing changes, but they could definitely do laundry and fix you some food and take care of the cats. The one I used was mostly marketed towards the elderly, so start looking for that and you'll probably find a company that can help you out.
posted by telepanda at 7:26 PM on June 30, 2015

Home health care agencies have non-professional staff to do just this for bedfast people and the elderly. They'll all have been checked out and be bonded and insured. I did this when my father was staying with me and I still had to work.
posted by pippin at 7:35 PM on June 30, 2015

Task Rabbit?
posted by k8t at 9:24 PM on June 30, 2015