Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Caregiver

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The American Geriatrics Society listed their "Top Ten Questions to Ask Agencies
Before Hiring a paid Caregiver. These questions with our answers are listed below.

We encourage to click on the questions below to learn more about FHC's business
model and our approach to home care.

1. "How do you recruit caregivers, and what are your hiring requirements?"
2. "What types of screening are performed on caregivers before you hire them?"
3. "Are your caregivers certified in CPR or have any health-related training?"
4. "Are your caregivers insured and bonded through your agency?"
5. "What competencies are expected of the caregiver you send to the home?
   (e.g., lifting and transfers, homemaking skills, personal care skills (bathing,
   dressing, toileting), training in behavioral management, cognitive support?)"
6. "How do you assess what the caregiver is capable of doing?"
7. "What is your policy on providing a substitute caregiver in the event a regular
   caregiver cannot provide the contracted services?"
8. "If there is dissatisfaction with a particular caregiver, can she or he be replaced
   “without cause?"
9. "Does the agency provide a supervisor to evaluate the quality of home care on
   a regular basis?"
10. "Does supervision occur over the telephone, through progress reports, or in person
    at the home of the older adult?"

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Answer to: "How do you recruit caregivers, and what are your hiring requirements?"

Our “hiring practices” page will give you these answers. Click on the button to go to that page.

 Hiring Practices

Answer to: "What types of screening are performed on caregivers before you hire them?"

We perform a pre-employment national “Criminal Background Check” via LiveScan and Intellicorp records for all caregiver candidates. Additionally, we maintain a DOT approved Drug & Alcohol-Free Workplace Policy which includes pre-employment and random drug testing.

We verify all caregivers driving record to ensure they can legally drive and they have a clean driving record.

We verify their past employment to verify their skill set, that they have hands on caregiving experience and that that have good prior job references.

If the staff questions an applicants skill set, they will have the applicant demonstrate different skills in question.

Answer to: "Are your caregivers certified in CPR or have any health-related training?"

Yes, our employees undergo annual re-certification for CPR and First Aid training.

Answer to: "Are your caregivers insured and bonded through your agency?"

Yes they are. Our insurance and bonding policies meet and exceed industry standards. Copies of our coverage's are available upon request.

Answer to: "What competencies are expected of the caregiver you send to the home?(e.g., lifting and transfers, homemaking skills, personal care skills (bathing, dressing, toileting), training in behavioral management, cognitive support?)"

We have a variety of different caregivers, many with different skill sets from companion care to full hands on assist care and everything in between.  Many of our caregiver are CNA's, HHA's, LVN's, Certified Caregivers, and experienced caregivers. We match our caregiver's' experience level, personality, and skill set with the level and type of care required by our clients. At the time of hire all caregiver candidates must complete a comprehensive written Skills Assessment. If the they do not pass this test they are not eligible to work for Family Home Care.

Family Home Care makes available to all its caregivers an 80+ Hour Foundational Caregiving Training program highlighting:

• The duties of a Caregiver & Understanding Clients Rights

• Promoting Client Independence & Human Needs & Development

• Body Systems, The Aging Process & Common Chronic Diseases

• Common Communicable Diseases & Handling Difficult Situations & Behaviors

• Emergency 1st Aid: Heart Attack and Shock

• Infection Control & Ethics & Personal Rights

• Promoting, Maintaining Good Mobility & Elimination & Toileting

• Providing Personal Care & Instrumental Activities of Daily Living

• Understanding Elder Abuse & Environmental Hazards & Safety

• Nutrition & Hydration & Providing Skin Care

• Measuring Vital Signs & Observation, Reporting & Recording

• End of Life Care & Avoiding Caregiver Stress

• Caregiver Conduct, Sexual Harassment & Misconduct

• Cultural Differences & Memory Loss & Aging

• Helping Families Cope & Managing Behavior Challenges

• Special Considerations for Foods & Fluids

Answer to: "How do you assess what the caregiver is capable of doing?"

We assess every caregiver with written, verbal, and demonstrated skills assessment tests. Additionally, we invest in mandatory skills development training sessions once every calendar quarter.

Our ongoing and in person supervisory visits also afford our Care Management Team the opportunity to assess our caregivers on-the-job so their training and skills development sessions are tailored to maximize their benefit.

Answer to: "What is your policy on providing a substitute caregiver in the event a regular caregiver cannot provide the contracted services?"

FHC guarantees services on cases consisting of for or more consecutives hours per visit. Life happens and consequently there will be times that the regularly scheduled caregiver cannot work a shift for a client. in these instances we will provide another caregiver with comparable skills to work that shift. A member of our Care Management Team always personally introduces our caregivers to each client they work for the first time..

Answer to: "If there is dissatisfaction with a particular caregiver, can she or he be replaced “without cause?"

Absolutely, our goal is to deliver the highest quality of life, comfort and compassionate care. With that said, if there are any problems a client is experiencing with any of our caregivers we would want to be immediately notified of the issues so we can correct them before things escalate to the point that the client does not want a certain caregiver back to provide care services.

Answer to: "Does the agency provide a supervisor to evaluate the quality of home care on a regular basis?"

Yes, a member of our Care Management Team makes regular and ongoing on-site and face-to-face contact visits with all our clients, at no additional cost, to ensure the quality of the delivery of our care services and the well-being and ongoing satisfaction of our clients and our caregivers.

Answer to: "Does supervision occur over the telephone, through progress reports, or in person at the home of the older adult?"

Our client contact and supervisory visits are conducted in person and at the convenience of the client. Of course one of our care managers is available to our clients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.