Every week, someone has to get the person you care for to the doctor, the store, the barber, or a visit with friends. The question is not only who has the car. It is who has the time, the patience, and the energy for the trip home as well.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
List the trips first
Write down every trip that happens in a normal week. Separate the fixed ones, such as appointments with the family's doctor, from the flexible ones, such as groceries or a short drive to see a neighbor. Note how long each trip takes from door to door, including parking and the walk in.
Then mark which trips need hands-on help getting in and out of the car, and which do not. A trip that needs two people is a different decision from one that needs a driver alone.
Drive it yourself
A family driver knows the person, the route, and the quirks of the day. The trip can also be a visit in its own right. The costs are time away from work, the scramble when plans change, and the question of what happens when the driver is ill or away.
Hire the ride
A hired driver can take the fixed trips while the family keeps the visits that matter most. Ask the office a few specific questions before you agree.
Which vehicle will be used, the person's car or the helper's? Who carries coverage if something happens during the trip, and where is that written? Will the helper wait inside the appointment, or leave and return? Who covers fuel and parking, and is that listed in the packet? What happens if the appointment runs long, and how will you be told?
Ask too how the office handles a trip the person you care for does not want to make. Decide ahead of time who calls whom, so the helper is not left guessing.
Comparing the two
Lay the two options side by side for the next four weeks of trips. Count the hours family members would give up, the hours a helper would bill, and the hours lost to waiting. Then decide trip by trip rather than all at once. Many families keep the simple errands and hire the appointments, or the reverse.