Frequently Asked Questions About Home Care

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Frequently Asked Questions:

1. "How much does it cost to have home care services for my loved one?"
2. "How will the caregivers know what to do for my mom?"
3. "Why can't we have just one caregiver for our loved one?"
4. "What happens if my caregiver is late or doesn't show up?"
5. "What happens if we do not like the caregiver?"
6. "How do we change the care schedule if we want more or less services?"
7. "Can the caregivers help me writing out my bills or help me with my banking?"
8. "What if I like my caregivers so much I want to give one, or all, a gift?"
9. "What do we do if we have questions about our invoice or other questions?"

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Answer to: "How much does it cost to have home care services for my loved one?"

We do not have a set price for services because each person care, needs, and wants are unique to them. We are highly competitive and believe that you get the best value of every dollar you spend on home care when Family Home Care is providing the services.

We determine the cost of your care services dependent on a variety of factors such as: on the level of care you will need, the variety of services that you need and or want, and the amount of hours per day and the days of the week you will be wanting services.

There are many agencies that will give you a price right over the telephone with ever seeing your loved one or understanding your loved one's care needs. That is why we are required to do a face-to-face evaluation of care needs and at that time we are able to determine the cost of services.

Answer to: "How will the caregivers know what to do for my mom?"

At the time one of our Care Managers meets with you at no cost or obligation to assess your loved one's care needs, we determine a plan of care. Together we determine and write out the duties our caregivers will be providing for your loved one. Our goal is to ensure that expectations of the care services our caregivers will be providing are exactly the same as what are caregivers will be doing. At each of our cases, we prepare a client log that contains copies of all important information for the client, as well as a written plan of care. In addition, we require our caregivers to record in this log the duties they perform while on duty. This provides a written record of the care being delivered for the family to review. Each time one of our caregivers provides care for one of our clients for the first time, one of our staff members physically accompanies our caregiver to the residence and introduces the caregiver to the client. At that time they review the care requirements and the duties the caregiver will need to perform. This way, no one just shows up at the door to provide care.

Answer to: "Why can't we have just one caregiver for our loved one?"

We wish it could be as simple as that. While we would all like to have just one caregiver for each client, it just does not work. We believe, foremost, that when there are just one or two caregivers working with a client it tends to create a potential for bad relationships. In these instances, the client often forms an unhealthy dependence upon those one or two caregivers. We believe there needs to be at least 3 or 4 caregivers, who are rotated on a regular basis, familiar with the case, who can provide the level of care required.

Our goal is to have consistency of care services. We try our hardest, as part of the consistency of services, to have certain caregivers assigned to certain clients on a rotating basis. With many of our clients, there will probably be a time, or two, that there are many different caregivers providing services.

Answer to: "What happens if my caregiver is late or doesn't show up?"

When FHC accepts to provide care for a client, we promise to have, as much as possible, coverage for the times and the shifts we said we would. We go so far as to have our staff fill in and work cases when our caregivers, or a replacement caregiver, is not available. If our caregiver does not arrive to provide the care when they are scheduled, we ask our clients to immediately call us and let us know. Only then can we put things in motion to get a backup caregiver or staff person on their way to work. We have a staff person available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to your call.

Answer to: "What happens if we do not like the caregiver?"

One of the reasons FHC has a staff person accompany a caregiver for their personal introduction to the client, is to ensure you are comfortable with the caregiver. The staff person also reviews with the caregiver the duties they will be performing and ensuring the caregiver is comfortable and can perform the level of care required. If you do not like our caregiver, for whatever reason, we will immediately replace that caregiver. However, we ask all our clients to be reasonable and consider why the disapproval of a particular caregiver. We believe these issues can be resolved if the client gives the caregiver a chance. Nonetheless, we will immediately replace a caregiver at the client’s request.

Answer to: "How do we change the care schedule if we want more or less services?"

If you would like more or less hours of service all you have to do is call the office and speak to any staff person. Tell them what your scheduling needs are and we will usually be able to accommodate you. Please, we ask that you call us well enough in advance, so we can properly inform our caregivers of any changes in service. In addition, we ask that you do not make any schedule changes through our caregivers. This will save us all potential problems.

Answer to: "Can the caregivers help me writing out my bills or with my banking?"

No, it is strictly against our company’s policy. If our caregivers do, they will be fired from our employment. We cannot emphasize enough that our caregivers provide care services only and are not to be involved in any way, shape, or form with our client’s financial affairs. We feel confident the reasons for these policies are obvious. If you need assistance with bill paying or assistance with other financial matters, do not hesitate to call us and we will give you a list of individuals and companies in your area that will assist you in these matters.

Answer to: "What if I like my caregivers so much I want to give one, or all, a gift?"

Our caregivers cannot accept a gift of any form from our clients, or the client’s friends or relatives, without prior authorization from FHC. If our caregivers do not follow this policy, the caregiver will be terminated immediately from employment with FHC. All our caregivers understand this. If you feel a desire to give a gift, of any form, we ask that you put those desires in a letter to the Branch manager, detailing the items(s) you intend to give your caregiver. Upon management’s approval, we will make the proper arrangements for the caregiver to receive the gift.

Answer to: "What do we do if we have questions about our invoice or other questions?"

Billing, payment, or general home care account questions are usually best addressed by our
own in-house Accounting Department rather than one of the staff in our local office in your
community. A member of that team is best reached during regular office hours.

If you have any questions regarding our billing process or an invoice you can call our Accounting Department directly and they will assist you questions. Click the button below to call or contact our Accounting Department. Our Accounting Department's office hours are 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday.

Accounting