How to Pick an Agency for In-Home Senior Care

When a loved one needs healthcare due to old age or disability, home care is often preferred over nursing homes or other facilities. The right home care agency can provide 24-hour monitoring, feeding, drug administration, flexibility and more. Here's a guide to choosing a dependable agency for in-home care.

Speak with Management

Look into agencies to see how they hire and manage their caregivers. How do they screen job applicants? Do they insure all workers and offer worker's compensation in case their caregivers are injured on your property? Also find out whether an agency's caregivers are permanent employees or contract workers. In many cases, employees offer more support and a higher level of care to patients.

Analyze Services

Caregivers perform different types of services, so it's important to choose an agency that offers the services you need. In addition to managers, speak with employees to find out what skills they have. Make sure that they are compatible with yourself and the patient for the comfort of everyone.

Verify Licenses and Reputation

Home care often involves professional medical procedures that should only be performed by professionals. Before hiring an agency, verify that their caregivers are licensed and accredited according to the laws in your area. In addition, look at online reviews and speak with others in your area to confirm that the agency is reputable.

Look for Training

Although educational programs teach caregivers many important skills, agencies often train their caregivers to perform tasks to their own specifications. Combined with regular testing, this may ensure that the agency's caregivers offer a consistently high level of service.

Discuss Emergency Procedures

Emergencies may arise during home care, making contingency training essential for caregivers. If your regular caregiver is ever unable to work for any reason, will the agency be able to provide a replacement? By looking into this before you hire an agency, you'll be less likely to be faced with finding another agency on a moment's notice.

Ask About Background Checks

You should be able to trust any caregiver in your home. If you stick to agencies that require references and background checks for their personnel, you'll be more likely to end up with a caregiver you can count on.

Looking into home care agencies with the above considerations in mind will better ensure that you are satisfied with the caregiver who works in your home.