Choosing a Quality and Safe Home Care Agency

Three essential concepts and questions to ask to ensure the company you choose has a strong set of core values:

• Communication – Will I be able to easily communicate with the personal attendant and have continued access to my case manager?
  • This is the core of our approach. We believe that you should never feel there is a lack of control or communication with your assigned case manager and Caregiver.
• Integrity – Do I sense of trust is established?
  • We believe this is the key to a comfortable relationship and the well-being of the client. That’s why we carefully screen all our Caregiver.
• Performance – Am I confident I will get the professional care promised and that there will be accountability and follow up?
  • Home care is dynamic and a family’s needs can change daily. You chose home care to allow your loved one to remain independent and retain their quality of life, not to endure more paperwork and problem-solving. We make a simple promise: we will be there for you and your family and we’ll will work with you until you are satisfied.

Home care services are especially valuable when no family members live close enough to monitor the their loved one. By having these standards in place, if the Caregiver suffers an accident while working in the client’s home, their injuries and care are covered by the company’s Worker’s Compensation Insurance. Active supervision of Caregiver allows the agency to professionally work through any performance issues. A 24-hour On-Call service allows for last-minute schedule changes and back-up to be scheduled when necessary. Training programs provide Caregiver with guidelines to follow for performing quality care duties.

Items to consider when choosing an agency to work with:

• Business license and necessary state licensure (if required by the state where the agency is located)
• Caregivers are “Employees” (this means the Agency is responsible for paying all employee payroll taxes, as required by law: Unemployment Insurance tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax and State and Federal with-holdings)
• Worker’s Compensation Insurance
• Professional Liability Insurance
• Fidelity Bond Insurance (this is sometimes referred to as “theft” insurance)
• Active Management of the Caregiver through a direct Supervisor or Manager
• Plan of Care
• Criminal Background Check performed on all Employees
• Training for Caregivers
• 24-Hour On-Call Service
• Satisfactory Customer Ratings
• Caregivers check-in and out via a phone app that validates the Caregiver is at the client’s home
• Family members can login to a website portal to monitor the care being provided to their family member
• Caregiver is protected by Unemployment Insurance if they are not staffed between assignments and meet the necessary qualifications
• Caregivers also have the guarantee of receiving Medicare and Social Security benefits when they retire because they have paid into these programs as an employee of the agency