5 Factors to Consider When Choosing Home Care Agencies

Are you a Toledo resident looking for senior home care? Have you or a loved one realized the need for more in-home medical attention? If so, then you need to learn all you can about searching for home care agencies in your area.

Doing so can help you in a variety of ways. It will give you peace of mind, help you build a meaningful relationship with your caretaker, and give you access to a higher level of all-around medical assistance.

See below for an in-depth guide highlighting the different factors that you should consider when looking for the best home care agency to hire.

1. References and Reviews

Perhaps you’ve been burned by previous home care agencies that you’ve hired. Maybe you or your loved one are hesitant to go down this route due to your lack of familiarity with it. Whatever the case might be, it’s nothing that a little research can fix!

Performing research on the home care agency can give you more confidence in the company you choose. The most common ways to do this is by either requesting client references from the agency directly or reading through online reviews. These will each give you a quick peek behind the curtain.

When looking into online reviews, be sure to read the comments the clients leave behind, and ask yourself a few of the questions below:

• Do the clients seem satisfied with the service that they received?
• Did they hire the home care agency for themselves or a loved one?
• Do the clients believe the price to be fair and worthwhile?
• Do they give any specific examples of how the agency went above and beyond for them?

Remember, you’re looking for positivity. As long as you get the feeling that clients are (for the most part) satisfied with the home care agencies you’re looking into, you’ve accomplished this part!

2. Home Care Experience

This is a vastly overlooked aspect of the job. There are some out there that believe they can merely hire a standalone nurse to watch their loved one as a side gig. Even worse, you might invest in a certain agency due to the cheap price, then realize their nurses have zero experience.

Home care experience differs from other nursing experiences. The nurse in charge of your loved one needs to have experience in a vast array of subjects, such as patient care, IV therapy, wound care, injections, and so forth. They’ll also need to be comfortable with things like helping your loved one change clothes, teaching them about proper diabetic care, and so forth.

Here at Med1Care, we offer both registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) to ensure that your loved one receives the quality of care they need.

As any experienced home care nurse knows, there’s a communicative aspect to the job as well. They’ll be happy to discuss your loved one’s care and ensure that they’re being overseen the right way. Make sure to ask any home care agency you speak to about the experience level of their nurses. It shouldn’t be overlooked!

3. Cost-Effectiveness

You shouldn’t have to spend a fortune to get the home care that you or your loved one requires. Whenever you’re comparing home care fees, be sure to think about the return on investment that you’ll receive.

Look into the health care plans those agencies provide. Are they customizable or pre-packaged? If they’re pre-determined, then you may end up paying more for services your loved one doesn’t even need. Or worse, the package won’t include services that they do require.

Our biggest warning is this: don’t invest in-home care agencies based solely on their price. Sometimes you get what you pay for. In other words: if you invest in a cheap service, you might end up putting your loved ones in the hands of an inexperienced or unlicensed nurse. Make sure the service justifies your budget!

4. Customizable Services

As we hinted out in the previous point, you should never be forced to invest in a home care package that doesn’t meet you or your loved one’s needs. To do so would be a monumental waste of money.

Instead, you should focus on finding a package that has all the services you need. Be sure to consult your senior loved one’s doctor to see what services they determine to be non-negotiable. For example, your loved one might require diabetic care, gastric feedings, etc.

After that, give us a call! We have offices in Toledo and Findlay ready to assist you and form the exact home care package that you need.

5. Strong and Friendly Communication

The way a home care service communicates with you now is indicative of how they’ll communicate with you once you hire them for the job.

Be sure to reach out to them via phone. Ask them any questions you have and pay special attention to the way they answer them. Do they beat around the bush? Do they try and rush you off the phone?

You need someone that takes the time to answer your questions. This can be a stressful time for your family, so you deserve to find an agency that can remove the anxiety from the situation.

Invest in Home Care Agencies for Your Loved One

Now that you have seen several factors to consider while you search for home care agencies for your loved one, be sure to use this information to your advantage.

Are you wondering if this is really for you? Be sure to read this article for the top reasons you should choose in-home elderly care for you or your loved one.

For any other inquiries that you may have, please begin by calling us at 1-800-350-8941 and we will be happy to assist you further.