Where did you find your caregivers?
Our caregivers all came to our agency on a referral basis. We have never advertised for caregivers. Kurt Hjelle met caregivers on an ongoing basis working as a home care physical therapist. Caregivers would give him their information to contact them when a new patient needed help.
Do you do background checks?
Yes. We are required by the Illinois Department of Public health to do a fingerprint background check.
Training of caregivers?
Caregivers are required by the Illinois Department of Public health to take a minimum of 8 hours of training on topics such as communicating with patients, home safety, personal care, managing medications.
How are your caregivers trained?
Safe at Home Healthcare has taken a significant step to address one of the biggest concerns families have with home care: the level of training and skills of the in-home caregiver. While more and more families are seeking in-home care to avoid institutionalization of their loved ones, the training and skill of the caregivers coming into the home is a very valid concern.
Safe at Home Healthcare believes that training and skill development in their caregiving team is one of the key reasons families choose a company. We know that many families have options for care. We are very focused on making sure our agency partners are providing a level of training that exceeds any required training in this area.
To achieve this, Safe at Home Healthcare agency partnerships provide 40 hours of caregiver training. Our training program offers highly engaging training courses, covering topics like nutrition and hydration, emergency first aid, ethics, personal care and mobility, Alzheimers and Dementia as well as communicating with others.
Are you licensed, bonded and insured?
Yes. The Illinois Department of Public Health requires all home services agencies to be bonded and insured. The license is issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
How much experience does a caregiver have?
Depends with each caregiver, some have 10 years of experience; others have months of experience. We do not place a caregiver in a home that is not qualified to care for the challenges of the case and we will let you know about their level of experience prior to you interviewing them. Every good health care practitioner had a first patient to treat.
How do you supervise your workers to make sure the proper care is given?
We make scheduled quality assurance calls and visits. To further ensure quality care, we see that all caregivers are regularly and closely supervised by one of our qualified company representatives every two (2) weeks.
Does the caregiver drive?
Some caregivers can drive. Most of our caregivers that “live in” do not. This is why they are live in caregivers and do not work as a come and go caregiver. We do not encourage a caregiver to drive since they are not licensed as a professional driver. Our service agreement outlines our policy on a caregiver driving a patient.
Do you have caregivers that drive their patients to appointments?
Yes.
Do your caregivers have experience with Alzheimer’s disease?
Most of our clients have dementia or Alzheimer’s therefore our caregivers do have experience with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. The key is to find someone who is patient and compassionate, with good basic knowledge and experience working with Alzheimers or Dementia.
Are your staff employees or contract workers? Are they insured and bonded?
Our staff consists of contracted workers through other licensed agency partners. Agency partners are the employer of the caregivers.
Both compassion and skill
Caring and compassion are the most important traits of a caregiver. But just compassion isn’t enough. Knowing that the caregiver also has skills to prevent skin breakdown and maintain walking skills, for example, is vital for the family’s peace of mind.”
Families employing caregivers in their homes want to know that they are capable of providing the best care possible. I know if someone were coming to my mother’s home providing care for her I’d feel significantly more confident knowing that person had received training.
Contact us!
We at Safe at Home Healthcare will be glad to assess your situation. We’ll let you know if our services will best help you or your senior. Give us a call at (800) 480-4154. Or contact us by email.
