Home Health

Who uses in-home care?
Anyone who’d like some help with day-to-day activities like errands, light housekeeping, meal planning/preparation, personal care, etc. is a candidate for home care. Many people choose home care to provide respite for a family caregiver, as an alternative to family caregiving or for live-in or 24/7 care. Others choose home care as a comforting alternative to an assisted living or nursing facility. Home care can also be an ideal choice for people with disability, chronic or terminal illness, and those recovering from an illness, surgery or a hospital stay.

I’m concerned about my father’s safety, but I’m not sure he’d agree to ask for help. What can I do to introduce home care to him?
Many people, especially those that are living independently, can be wary of asking for help. No one wants to feel like they’re losing their independence. Your father probably has a lot of concerns (Will I like my caregiver? What does this mean? Do I need this?) and he might not have a good understanding of what home care is all about. At GeriatriCare®, we’ve found that the best way to make dad most comfortable is simple. Build a meaningful relationship right from the start. A great way to work through your father’s concern is to arrange for one of our staff to come out and meet with both of you together. We can talk about what he wants, what kind of assistance we offer, answer his questions and concerns, and give him a better understanding of what home care is all about.

How do I choose a Home Health Agency?
While there are lots of things to consider when choosing a home care agency, ultimately peace of mind is most important. How do you get peace of mind? It’s all about putting you first and building a relationship so you know exactly what’s happening, when it’s happening and why it’s happening. Here are some great questions that can help you determine if an agency will put you first.

• Are your calls always answered by a live person? Or, if you must leave a message, is your call returned immediately?
• Is someone available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year?
• Will the agency share their rates and rate sheet with you?
• How is your caregiver trained?
• Who will supervise your caregiver and how often will your situation be assessed?
• How will the agency communicate with family members?
• Is there a Registered Nursing supervisor available to provide on-call assistance?
• Who replaces your regular caregiver if she/he can’t make it?
• Is the agency locally owned and operated??
• Do you have to sign a contract?

How do I arrange for services?
Just give us a call at (703) 313-6114. We’ll answer all of your questions and when you’re ready, we’ll be happy to set up an initial homecare consultation to help you decide exactly what kind of care you’re looking for.

How do you select your Caregivers?
At GeriatriCare®, our first priority is the client. To keep the focus on the client, we build meaningful relationships all around. First, we select Caregivers who are educated, gentle, and passionate about caring for and nurturing others. Second, all of the Caregivers are carefully screened, interviewed, and multi-state background checked. Lastly, the nursing and staffing departments take great pride in matching each Caregiver with their unique client based on personality, skill, and location. What do all of these things mean for you? You can be confident and have peace of mind that your Caregiver is the best Caregiver for you.

Are your Caregivers bonded and insured
Yes!  All of Home Care Assistance, our partner agency, employees are covered by general and professional liability insurance, Workers Compensation and are fully bonded.

Do your Caregivers go through a background check?
Our partner agency, Home Care Assistance hiring process includes an initial telephone pre-screening, at least one face-to-face interview, two positive personal reference checks and two positive business reference checks that are secured by our administrative staff. After completing all of these steps, Caregivers go through a criminal background check performed by Virginia State Police.

Who pays the Caregivers?
All the Caregivers are employed by Home Care Assistance and are, therefore, paid by Home Care Assistance through their payroll system. They handle all billing, payroll, employer and employee taxes, liability insurance, bonding, workers compensation, benefits, screening/background checks, training and all other administrative costs associated with having a Caregiver in your home.

Why should I go through an agency like GeriatriCare as opposed to hiring a Caregiver privately or going through a Registry?
Because an agency, like Home Care Assistance, does everything for you. Hiring and retaining experienced, compassionate, and loyal Caregivers is what we do. We are experts at pre-screening, conducting interviews, obtaining personal and business reference checks, obtaining multi-state background checks, and matching Caregivers to clients. We provide extensive training, offer on-going RN assessments, conduct Caregiver reviews, and have temporary Caregivers available should your Caregiver have an emergency. We also handle all billing, payroll, employer and employee taxes, liability insurance, bonding, workers compensation, benefits, and all other administrative costs associated with having a Caregiver in your home.