FAQs

Home Care is an option for senior care that enables aging at your own home. In-Home Care services are an alternate and preferred choice versus an assisted living or nursing home. When selecting a home care services company, you will have many questions. The first thing to understand is that home care services differ from facility-based options. Chances are if you’re researching senior care, you’ve heard a lot about senior housing options such as a nursing home, assisted living community, adult daycare, retirement community, or continuing care retirement community. These elderly care options all have unique benefits, however, at-home care is often the preferred choice for seniors who wish to age in place in their own home.

Your financial, social, and health situation will often determine which environment you choose. Depending on your loved one’s needs, you may opt for him or her to receive non-medical in-home care to provide them with services throughout the day when you’re unable to attend to their needs.

Non-medical home care is a service that helps those in need by assisting with activities of daily living (ADLs) to continue living life from the comfort of his or her own home. Home care is a model that can include both professional and informal support networks such as family, neighbors, and friends. To remain independent, these individuals work together to meet your goals and expected outcomes.

It can be easy to confuse non-medical home care with in-home health care. However, there is a difference. Home health care agencies refer to medical-related home care, while home care is specifically non-medical.

In-home health care providers can refer caregivers who have a background in home health nursing, such as an RN or LPN who is skilled at working with older adults in a home environment. In-home health care can also encompass home health aides and therapists who make house calls, caring for an adult at their home, and administering therapy to them rather than having them travel to a care facility or physical therapist’s office.

Non-medical home care can be helpful to older adults who may have difficulty doing some of the things they used to do when they were younger, who need assistance with household chores, or who would benefit from companionship

If you need answers to the following questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

• Is the home healthcare provider licensed?
• Is the home healthcare provider accredited by a leading national accreditation firm?
• Are the caregivers employed by the provider and supervised by the provider’s Clinical Directors?
• Does the provider perform criminal background checks on caregivers prior to hiring?
• Are the caregivers covered by Workers’ Compensation in the event they are injured on the job?
• Is the provider responsible for deducting State, Federal, Local, and Social Security taxes from the caregivers’ wages?
• Does the provider send a Registered Nurse to meet the family and develop a plan of care for the caregivers to follow?
• Does the provider require the caregivers to carry photo identification?
• If you are dissatisfied with your caregiver, may you request a replacement?
• Does the provider supply backup in case the primary caregiver has an emergency and cannot work?
• Does the provider keep a “logbook” in your home to document services performed (i.e. meals, activities, bathing, etc.,)?