It is so important to research and consider options carefully when looking into a home care agency to assist your loved one. Some agencies may not provide adequate screening or training of their caregivers. Also, finding a compatible caregiver for a client is crucial and should be a priority to the home care agencies you consider.
Here are 15 questions to ask when contacting home care agencies.
1. How do you recruit caregivers, and what are your hiring requirements?
In-home caregiver jobs have different requirements. Most highly regarded home care agencies require CNA or HHA certifications. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton, for example, hires CNAs and HHAs with experience in caregiving, and the caregivers typically have a strong employment history in caring for seniors.
2. What types of screening and background checks are performed on caregivers before you hire them?
You want to ensure that the agency has checked the caregivers’ background through legitimate records and databases, not through an unverifiable source.
3. Is your agency bonded and insured, and does your agency meet all state and local requirements?
Visiting Angels Newton/Canton is bonded and insured. It not only meets Massachusetts state requirements but is also an award-winning home care agency. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has won the Best Home Care Provider and Best of Home Care Employer awards from Home Care Pulse, an independent satisfaction and quality assurance company, for the past six years.
4. What kind of health-related training, if any, do your in-home caregivers have?
It’s essential to ensure that the caregiver or home health aide you choose is appropriately trained for your needs. For example, Visiting Angels Newton/Canton provides an orientation class for new caregivers, Visiting Angels University, an online educational program, and a partner program with a local community college. Caregivers are taught how to assist clients with transfers through Hoyer lifts and gait belts, provide comfort to seniors with dementia, and other crucial skills to help ensure clients are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.
5. Does your agency provide specialized and continuing education for caregivers?
A good agency will have caregivers trained to handle specific needs, such as dementia care, through specialized education. Some agencies may have advanced training programs available, such as Visiting Angels’ Palliative Care Training.
6. How are your training programs developed?
Reputable agencies like Visiting Angels often provide training that has been developed with nationally recognized experts, such as their Dementia Care Professionals of America (DCPA), which is an Alzheimer’s Foundation of America-sponsored formal training and qualification program for caregivers.
7. What competencies will the caregiver have (e.g., lifting and transfers, homemaking skills, personal care skills including bathing, dressing, toileting, behavioral management training, cognitive support)?
Not every situation will require a caregiver with all of these skills, but it is important to know what a caregiver can do. Be sure to share your loved one’s requirements and ask the agencies you are contacting if they have caregivers available with the skillsets needed to provide the appropriate support to them.
8. How do you assess what the caregiver is capable of doing?
Not every caregiver is a match for every client’s needs. A good agency will conduct an initial assessment to determine the client’s requirements and evaluate each caregiver’s skills, strengths, and personality to provide a good match.
9. What is your policy on providing a substitute caregiver if a regular caregiver cannot provide the contracted services?
Emergencies happen, but you need to know that your care needs will still be met. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton and other quality agencies have policies to ensure that clients are not left without a caregiver.
10. If there is dissatisfaction with a particular caregiver, can they be replaced “without cause”?
Home care is very personal, and sometimes the right match between caregiver and client doesn’t happen right away. An agency like Visiting Angels Newton/Canton will work with you to find a different caregiver to make sure your loved one is cared for, and you have peace of mind.
11. Does the agency provide a supervisor to evaluate the quality of home care regularly? How frequently? Does supervision occur over the telephone, through progress reports, or in person at the older adult’s home?
A combination of monitoring, such as telephone and in-home visits, is recommended to ensure the best level of care. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton assigns a case manager to each client and their family. The case manager supports the client and their family every step of the way. The office and on-call staff are also available to assist and support clients and their families twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
12. How long has the home care agency been in business?
A national franchise should have a high level of agencies with a long track record — at Visiting Angels, 60% of all franchises have been in business five or more years, which is more than 10% higher than the national average. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has been in business for over seventeen years.
13. How does the agency stay abreast of new techniques and research in home care?
Franchise agencies usually have a strong network of ongoing skills training to draw on. Still, every agency should participate in local network and education opportunities to ensure they are providing the most current care modalities. The Visiting Angels Newton/Canton staff and owners participate in ongoing training and franchise conferences regularly.
14. What hours can the caregivers work? When are they available?
You need to be able to schedule help when you need it, and a good agency will work to provide care. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton offers hourly care, 24-hour home care and live-in services, temporary or long-term care, weekend and holiday care, as well as respite for family caregivers.
15. Can we meet the caregiver before the person starts work?
Meeting and approving the proposed caregiver before hiring helps to reassure you and prepare your loved one. Caregivers and clients build a special bond and feel like part of the family if there is a good match.
Starting up home care for a senior loved one can be daunting. Too often, families don’t know what questions to ask, so they choose an agency that may not be the right fit. It’s so important to ask questions and be confident that the agency you choose can stand by you when you need them. We hope these questions will help you feel more confident in your choices.
If you’re interested in more information about how in-home care can help your senior loved ones in Newton, MA, and surrounding communities, contact Visiting Angels Newton/Canton at 617–795–2727.
About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton
Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA is an award-winning home care agency providing high-caliber home care services for seniors and people with disabilities for over seventeen years. Countless families have benefited from our home care assistance, senior companion support, respite for family caregivers, 24-hour and live-in home care, dementia, and Alzheimer’s care, transitional aid, and home health care services in Dedham, Needham, Natick, Wellesley, Stoughton, Brookline, Canton, Watertown, Jamaica Plain, Newton, Norwood, Roslindale, Upper Back Bay, Westwood, and neighboring communities. The non-medical assistance provided by Visiting Angels Newton/Canton home care can make a significant impact on your loved one’s happiness and quality of life.
If you are interested in more information about how in-home care can help your senior loved ones, contact us today at 617–795–2727 to schedule a free in-home consultation.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.