When a family decides that it is the right time to hire an in-home caregiver, it is important to seek trustworthy and professional services. When going through a home care agency, they often have a rigorous hiring process for their home health aides to ensure the safety and protection of their clients. Additionally, most agencies will allow you to interview different aides before committing to services. But of course, putting your trust in an outside party with these very personal responsibilities is challenging. This is why it is important to ask multiple agencies a list of questions and gather information about the type of care and quality of services they provide.
Agency-related questions:
- How long have you been in business?
- Are you insured? (Ask for a copy of their Insurance Declaration)
- Do you provide workers’ compensation insurance for your home health aides?
- Can you provide references from previous clients?
- What if their is an emergency? Can I get in touch with your agency during after-hours?
Caregiver-related questions:
- How long have your home health aides worked for you?
- How do you match your clients with home health aides?
- What is your home health aide hiring process like?
- Do you conduct background checks? If so, what kind?
- Do you conduct drug tests?
- Do you provide training for your home health aides? If so, what kind?
- Do your home health aides participate in ongoing training and education?
- Are clients able to interview potential home health aides?
- What precautions do your home health aides take during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Policy-related questions:
- What is your policy if I want to replace an aide?
- What is your policy for no-show or late home health aides?
- Do you have a policy regarding time minimums per shift or per week?
- What is your policy for communicating with a client and their family members?
- Do you offer any additional services for your clients’ family members? Do you have a social worker on staff?
- Are after-hours phone calls answered by one of your staff members or are they routed to an answering service?
Payment-related questions:
- What forms of payment do you accept?
- Do you accept my insurance?
- What are your hourly and live-in home-care rates?
- Will you submit the documents needed for me to be reimbursed by my insurance?
- How often do you bill?
