Home Care for the Elderly - One Method to Verify Quality

Adult children and the senior citizen in search of home care services typically begin searching for services due to a sudden crisis. Few are prepared ....

Approximately 7.6 million seniors (and those with disabilities) in the US require some form of home health care. Responding to this growing need there are now more than 20,000 home health care companies registered throughout the United States. (Source: National Association for Home Care)

Each state’s criteria vary for home care companies. Some states have no standards or requirements. Think about that last statement for a minute. Who are you trusting to provide care and companionship for your elderly loved one and on what basis do you determine that trust?

While researching for this article, we asked a number of private pay home care agencies, “How do you ensure that your clients receive excellent care?” The most popular answer to this question referenced the home care agency’s commitment to hiring quality aides and companions. In fact, not to sound rude, but this answer was given so often it seemed that each were reading from the same script.

An adult child of a senior shared her story with us. “We interviewed 4 different agencies before hiring one to provide care for mom. Each promised the basic same things to us … in the end, in all honesty, we simply went with our gut feelings,” Mary Beth W. of Rocky River Ohio.

Mary Beth went on to explain that she ‘wished’ there was some outside entity that she could turn to that would validate the promises and claims of these agencies. She is not alone in this fact. Recent consumer surveys show that most families would prefer an unbiased reporting system on the history of quality care prior to contracting with a home care agency. (Survey source: Certified Quality Elder Care)

Very few seniors (and family caregivers) are prepared with the knowledge of how to locate, how to differentiate between the choices and very few know what questions to ask.

Only two of the companies we interviewed were able to provide a method to verify their claims. The following statement was made, “We are a Certified Senior Approved Service. As part of our overall commitment to quality service for our seniors, we contracted an independent survey. If you like, you may phone Senior Approved Services to verify our customer satisfaction survey results at toll free 877-620-6448.”

This was a powerful statement to hear and we did follow up with their offer.

By contacting the toll free number we were able to validate the claims made by Bob Hebert of Carefree/Homecare Companion Service, Inc., located in Phoenix Arizona who described how his service ensures quality and safe practices.

Mr. Hebert stated, “Excellent care starts with hiring excellent caregivers. We tend to hire older caregivers (we average 49-years old) that are more mature, reliable and compassionate. We also conduct hands on training in a controlled environment and observe the new employees before they are sent out to work alone. The last part of ensuring excellent caregivers is to have a Case Manager visit our clients un-announced at least once a month.” (http://www.carefreehomecare.com)

We were also assured of the validity of the statements made by Phyllis Rosen, owner the Delray Beach Florida Visiting Angels office, when she offered, “We never just assign the next available Caregiver to any patient.... We strive to create relationships...not just a robot caregiver doing chores... Every member of our team must approve anyone applying for a position as caregiver. We select only the best... Without the best caregivers, we have no business...they're our lifeblood and we let them know that. (http://www.visitingangelsfl.com)

It is clear that the number of families in search of quality elder care will continue to grow. The number of home care agencies will increase in direct response. The industry as whole may want to empathize with the consumer (adult children and the senior citizen) by responding to the need for an independent third-party (unbiased) reporting system to help those in search of elder care connect with verified safe reliable companies.