Written by Noah Bandt

Finding a high-quality home care provider can be a stressful process. It’s natural to wonder if you’re asking the right questions or how you can be sure that they will take good care of your loved one. Luckily, there are a few specific questions you can ask any home care provider that will help to ensure your loved one gets the care they need. Read on to learn more.

Key Takeaways

1. Home care is a service that assists seniors in their homes. Seniors typically receive services such as personal care, companion care, or homemaking services.
2. Home care allows seniors to age in place. Home care agencies are a great choice because a senior can live in the familiarity of their own home for as long as possible.
3. You should always ask a home care provider if they are insured, bonded, and licensed. These questions can help protect you from liability.
4. You can also ask for a list of references. Any hesitancy from a provider to offer this or any other piece of important information is a red flag.

What is home care?

Home care is a service that assists seniors in their homes. This service can be provided by an agency that employs professional caregivers, or by independent caregivers hired as household employees. Levels of care provided can vary from a few hours of weekly housekeeping to 24-hour daily supervision, and the selected arrangement is based on each person’s needs and their individual care plan. One of the most significant advantages of home care is that it can allow seniors to age in place for as long as possible while also providing support for family caregivers.

Home care providers are generally trained to offer different non-medical services. Some home health care agencies may be licensed to provide more advanced care, but a doctor prescribes these caregivers for specific treatment options. Typically, home care includes helpful services to allow seniors to live as independently as possible:

• Homemaking or light housekeeping
• Meal preparation
• Companionship
• Assistance with activities of daily living
• Transportation
• Basic dementia care
• Respite care

What are the advantages of home care agencies?

The main advantage of a home care agency is that an agency will handle the background check and screening process for its employees. When choosing an independent caregiver, you or your family may need to handle these essential steps yourself in order to ensure that a caregiver is properly trained and, when applicable, licensed by the state. And, if an independent caregiver is not properly insured, you or your family could be liable for any accidents that occur inside your home. Agencies also tend to have more client reviews to help families make their decision.

A potential downside to hiring an independent caregiver is that, compared to an agency, the family has to handle all the scheduling. This may make it difficult to find a replacement on short notice if a caregiver gets sick or needs unexpected time off. Agencies often employ several caregivers, which typically makes finding a replacement a hassle-free process.

Important questions to ask a home care agency

There are several important questions to ask a home care agency or independent caregiver to help ensure that your loved one receives proper care. Always ask a provider if they are licensed, bonded, and insured. You should also be able to ask for a list of references or clients of theirs who you can contact. Any hesitancy or refusal on their part to disclose this information should be a major red flag.

Is the home care provider licensed?

Many states require a home care provider to be licensed to provide services. Licensure is not an evaluation of the quality of a provider, but it indicates that the home care provider should be able to offer at least a basic level of service. The state licensing process often includes inspection reports to determine if the provider complies with the state’s requirements.

Is the home care provider bonded?

Although not required by law, many home care providers are bonded. Home care bonds offer financial protection to seniors and their families in case of malicious treatment or damages caused by a provider. The company that issues the bond also tends to review a provider to verify the quality of their services.

Is the home care provider insured?

Home care providers often have business liability and workers’ compensation insurance. An agency needs to be properly insured so that you and your family are not liable if a caregiver is injured on your property. It is also important that a provider has business liability insurance to help cover the cost of any injury or property damage. You can always ask a community for a copy of their insurance certificate for confirmation.

Does the provider have any clients or references you can contact?

Contacting a reference can help to ensure that your loved one will receive quality service. You can also learn more about the caregiver’s personality and what their bedside manner is like from a reference. Although online reviews can be helpful, contacting another client or reference is a good way to verify that the reviews are accurate.

Further questions to ask a home care provider

• How long have you been in the business?
• Do your caregivers have any specialized training?
• How do you recruit or select your caregivers?
• What services are offered?
• How often are care plans updated?
• Does a registered nurse handle the patient screening process?
• Do you require a minimum number of hours per week?
• Do you accept Medicaid or long-term care insurance?
• If the regularly scheduled caregiver isn’t available, do you have replacement caregivers available on short notice?

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