how to evaluate home care services, and what is right for you?

Taking care of a family member can be one of the most rewarding jobs for a person. However, it can also be tough and stressful at the same time. Naturally, unpaid caregivers can experience burnout due to the time and effort committed to senior care. Therefore, many families seek help from professional home care services. However, this process can be complicated when navigating the various home care services available for your loved one.

1) Determine what kind of home care services you need

There are three types of home care services available: in-home care, on-demand home care, and home health care. You may need only one at a time or maybe multiple services.

In-home care services

Home care agencies provide these services. They will send trusted, qualified professional caregivers to take care of you, enabling you to remain in a safe and comfortable house setting.

In-home care services are well-suited for you who need assistance with their daily activities such as eating, bathing, hygiene assistance, etc.

Caregivers from home care providers can help with light household chores, transportation, meal preparation, medication reminders, and companionship.

On-demand home care services

On-demand home care is similar to in-home care in terms of its non-medical offerings. However, in-home care service providers require a minimum hours per visit andfor services scheduled well in advance..On-demand home care service agencies allow customers to order the services they need, when they need it.

On-demand home care services are available to satisfy the needs of families without being restricted by hourly minimums per visit or in-advance request. Typically, the main costs of home care services for these families have been the time a caregiver sits and waits in between tasks.

Caregivers can visit an individual’s home and help the customers based on their requests such as bathing (average time: 40 minutes), mobility assist (average: 15 minutes), and medication reminders (5 minutes), etc. Therefore, families won’t pay for a 4-hour visit while they only need 1-hour of service. Moreover, families can request on-demand home care services whenever they need without worrying about unavailable caregivers. Typically, in-home care providers may ask their customers to book the visit a few days or even months in advance to save the spot due to the increasing demand for home care. However, with on-demand home care providers, customers can request the services for same-day services, hence, being flexible with the timing.

Home health care services

If you are suffering from an illness or injury, home health care services will be suitable. Home health care focuses on medical care and illness treatment provided by skilled health professionals.

Depending on your needs and health conditions, you can benefit from one service or a combination of multiples.

2) Find the right home care providers for you

After determining the types of services that you need, it's time to evaluate which home care providers are right for you. In the beginning, it can be difficult as you are not willing to entrust your home or personal care to other caregivers, especially strangers. Therefore, you can start by seeking referrals from friends, families, or even neighbours. You can also ask people you know that have used care agencies they can suggest. By asking from their experiences, you are more likely to evaluate and pick the right home care services for you. Currently, there are three types of home care providers: full-service agencies, on-demand home care agencies, and independent providers. Depending on your financial situation and needs, you may choose either one of them to provide the services.

Full-service agencies

The 'full-service' term can explain the concept of these health care agencies. They usually offer high-cost services, but they provide pre-screened caregivers and professionals who have already gone through background checks. Caregivers who work for the agency will take care of all billing and tax issues for the customers. If a caregiver quits or becomes not suitable for the role, an agency can quickly find a replacement for you, and may also offer coverage if a caregiver is absent or calls in sick.

Potential questions to ask the home care agency in your evaluation:

• Does the caregiver share any similar interests or experiences with me?
• Will you have a care team or a consistent caregiver?
• Does the home care agency have a positive and can-do attitude?
• Do you feel at ease and comfortable working with the provider and their caregivers?
• Does it feel right for you?

On-demand home care agencies

‘On-demand’ home care agencies are those that provide non-medical home care services based on the customers’ needs. Instead of requesting a caregiver’s visit that lasts a minimum of four hours, on-demand home care agencies offer a faster, more affordable, and more flexible option. They allow the customers to request services, not a visit. These services can last from 5 minutes to 1 hour. Moreover, these providers can meet your unexpected needs quickly by sending caregivers to your home whenever you need them without booking the visit days and months in advance.

Essential elements when choosing an on-demand home care agency:

• No minimum hour. On-demand home care agency should allow you to request services based on how much care you need.
• No contract. When you consider on-demand home care agencies, make sure to choose the one that allows no contract so that you can only pay for what you need (the services you request).
• No schedule required. This is significant if you or your loved one usually experience unexpected needs. On-demand home care agencies should be able to meet this unforeseen demand quickly and effectively.
• Caregiver screening. When you choose a home care agency, make sure that they complete the screening process for all caregivers. High-quality providers should perform extensive background checks, evaluations of experience, skills, and personality tests on all their new hires to ensure reliability and honesty.
• No show policy. Commonly, you may experience an issue where caregivers don't show up. Therefore, a compassionate agency will be likely to have a system to handle caregivers that don't show up during their shift for any emergency reasons.
• Consistent communication. Make sure that your considered agency has a communication system to keep you updated and can quickly respond to your questions or concerns.
• Variety of services. Everyone's needs will be unique. Therefore, your agency must offer a full range of services for all your needs.

Independent providers
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These are individuals who provide the services directly without going through any agency. Therefore, they usually have lower costs compared to full-service agencies. However, a downside of the independent provider is that you, the customer, are required to do more legwork. You are responsible for handling any tax requirements and conduct background checks as well as identity verification. Moreover, there will be a higher rate of no-show or unexpected cancellations. You'll need to find a replacement provider in case of sudden absence or illness.

Tips for hiring home care caregivers:

Hiring home care caregivers is a significant time commitment involving researching the care required and identifying the proper support to meet the needs. Hiring caregivers to handle meal preparations will utterly different from hiring someone to take care of your injury. Therefore, this hiring process will be on a case by case basis. Helpers have come up with some useful tips to support you on this. Keep in mind that when you spend more time and effort in the initial hiring process, you will be more likely to be successful and to make the right decisions.

• Create a detailed specific job description with all of the tasks, required skills, and schedules. By doing so, you may give the applicants an overview of their jobs, and they are comfortable doing all of them.
• Arrange multiple interviews with each caregiver. Interviewing a potential caregiver is essential to not only get more information but also to make the right decision. Typically, the hiring process has around two interviews: phone interviews and in-person interviews. After you screen all applicants through phone interviews to make sure they satisfy basic requirements, a follow-up in-person interview is necessary for a better evaluation.
• Offer a trial period. After picking a great caregiver from the interview, it's ideal for arranging a trial period before permanently hiring them. This period is an excellent opportunity for you to observe how they handle the given tasks, and most importantly, how well they can get along with you.
• Discuss compensation and payment schedules. Make sure that you and the caregivers are clear of the compensation (get paid per hour or visit) and the schedule (after each visit, bi-weekly or monthly). This will prevent any future misunderstanding or disagreements between the two parties.
• Ask for several references and review them carefully. These references can help in terms of verifying their trustworthiness, reliability, punctuality, and their ability with home-care services.
• Conduct background checks. It's crucial to perform these checks to prevent any unexpected legal issues.
• If it's not the right fit for you, don't hesitate to move on. When hiring caregivers, it's essential that you feel at ease and comfortable with the person providing services at your own home. If you don't, don't be afraid to talk directly and openly to the provider so that problems can be resolved quickly. Another way is to look for another suitable caregiver.

How can Helpers be the best option for you?

When care can’t be scheduled, Helpers is there for you. We provide services through an application (available on iOS and Android) that help you request on-demand home care with flexibility and convenience from trusted and qualified caregivers. Our mission is to help Canadians live better lives for longer.

Our team combines our passion for better healthcare with a depth of experience in senior care, home care, and technology. Helpers was formed around a mission to create a more sustainable approach to support Canada's aging population. We understand that great care starts with great people and that is why we are committed to helping our clients and our workers get more of what they want!

You or your loved ones can request services from our app with increased flexibility, convenience, and cost savings for non-medical home care services. You pay only for the services you need and when you need it. If you require less than three consecutive hours of service, we are here FOR YOU.

• On-demand home care services
• No service minimums
• No hour minimums
• No schedule required
• No contract

Reference
https://www.visitingangels.com/knowledge-center/selecting-care/here-are-the-critical-first-steps-in-evaluating-home-care-for-your-loved-one/271 
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/senior-housing/home-care-services-for-seniors.htm https://www.seniorlink.com/blog/50-mistakes-to-avoid 
https://dailycaring.com/7-steps-for-hiring-a-caregiver-for-in-home-help/