Pros and Cons
Some things to consider when planning for the future of your aging parents:
Nursing home:
| Pros | Cons |
| Complete care | Long waiting time |
| Medical help available 24/7 | Expensive |
| Supervised environment | Lack of privacy |
| Social network available | May be too far from your home |
| Sense of isolation from family | |
| Restrictions in visitation (stay over, visit hours etc) |
Temporary relief:
| Pros | Cons |
| No paperwork | Temporary, short-term (few hours a day) |
| Professional staff | Expensive |
| No shopping, cleaning |
Live-out caregiver:
| Pros | Cons |
| No or little paperwork other than CRA employer account and remittance of wages | Almost impossible to find |
| Regular hours | No or limited flexibility |
| Shopping, cleaning available (not always) | Expensive |
| Parents can stay at home |
Foreign Live-in caregiver:
| Pros | Cons |
| The cheapest long-term solution | Upfront cost |
| Flexible hours (split hours, weekends, night, etc.) | Requires additional private bedroom |
| Big selection of qualified applicants (many with medical background) | Government program: extensive paperwork and waiting period |
| Parents can stay at home | Luck of privacy |
| Shopping, cleaning available | |
| More close relationship with the Employer |
You may want to see some of the links provided under Resources to see if what else you could do.