It’s time. Mom’s having difficulty doing many of the things she used to, and her personal grooming habits are starting to be neglected. She’s not ready for a nursing home, but she needs someone to be with her when you can’t. Unfortunately, your siblings can’t help because they live in other states.
It’s time for you to call in the calvary – a professional home care agency. An agency’s value lies in its ability to provide competent and compassionate care to your loved one and relieve you of the stress of finding and hiring qualified caregivers yourself.
When you hire a home care agency, you’re putting a lot of trust in them. If you’ve ever owned or managed a business, you know that spending time and effort interviewing results in hiring qualified people who are in it for the long haul with you. The same due diligence needs to be applied when choosing a home care agency.
“Interview” Questions to Ask a Home Care Agency
Questions to Start Off With
An interview always starts with a few pleasantries to get things started. Once everyone is settled in, a good place to start is with some easy questions about the agency itself:
- How long has your agency been in business?
- Where is it located?
- Is the agency Medicare-certified?
- What insurance plans do you accept?
- How is billing handled?
These are easy-to-answer questions for the agency, and the answers provide you with some basic information you need to know.
Questions to Really Get To Know Your Home Care Agency
Once you’re comfortable and want to get below the surface, here are five essential questions to ask to ensure the well-being of your loved one.
1. What are your criteria when you hire new caregivers?
This question is listed first because if it isn’t answered adequately, the others become a non-factor in your decision. The safety and well-being of your family member depend on the caregiver; you need to know how the agency screened them and how they decide who to bring on board.
How many times do you interview a prospective caregiver? Who interviews them? Is there a background check completed, including criminal and credit checks? Do you speak with some of their past employers? What skills do you look for in a caregiver, and what character traits?
Take your time and get all of this information. Then, if you’re satisfied with the agency’s hiring process, continue the interview with these questions.
2. Are your caregivers insured and bonded?
One reason you don’t want to hire individual caregivers yourself is the cost involved in bonding and insuring a caregiver. You want to make sure that the agency you select has done its diligence and is protecting you by taking care of the bonding and insurance.
3. Will my loved one always have the same caregiver?
Continuity is important to seniors when they have someone coming into their home. Once trust is established, they become comfortable with their caregiver and look forward to seeing them at their scheduled time.
A caregiver who spends considerable time with your loved one also gets to know their likes and dislikes, their moods, their physical health, and much more. If you have a revolving door of caregivers, it’s likely that your loved one isn’t going to be happy.
4. What happens if our regularly scheduled caregiver gets sick or can’t come to our home any given day?
The reliability of the agency is at question here. Will they leave you in a pickle because they don’t have anyone qualified to come out, or do they have adequate staffing to handle situations like this. It’s good to address this upfront.
5. How are complaints handled?
If something goes amiss in the relationship between you, your loved one, and the caregiver – either procedurally or personally – who do you report it to? What is their process for handling it? What steps do they take to make sure it doesn’t happen again?
Get To Know Seaside Home Health Care of Naples, FL
Would you like to learn more about our CAREGivers? At Seaside Home Health Care of Naples, FL, our caregivers are our employees, not contractors. We’re committed to selecting the best, training the best, and sending you someone who is highly qualified and committed to providing your loved one with the best care possible.
To learn more about our care, contact us at our Naples, Florida office, or one of our other Southwest Florida offices located in Charlotte or Lee County. We’d love to answer any questions you have about our home care agency and get to know you and your loved one. Compassionate home care is our specialty.