How to Evaluate a Home Health Care Aid

If you or a loved one qualify for hospice or home health care services, you have been through the medical system and are aware of the levels of health care that are out there. You need to be able to expect the same level of care at home that you receive in a Doctor's office, hospital, or any other health care facility.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• common sense
• a willingness to be extra observant

How to Evaluate a Home Health Care Aid

1. In many states, you have to be a licensed CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) to be employed by a Hospice or Home Health Care Organization. Be sure to check their credentials. Are they certified in CPR and First Aid? Do they have other skills that pertain to their job?

2. Check references. Talk to their co-workers. Ask their employers, if there is a list of clients who would offer references.

3. Observe their personal habits. Do they arrive on time? Are they dressed professionally? Do they wash their hands often and after completing tasks?

4. Do they know their job? Different organizaions require different tasks. Some offer light housekeeping while others, strictly perform medical tasks.

5. How do they interact with the patient? Are they polite and comassionate? Usually, if a person receives home health care, their condidtion has progressed to a point where they can be at home, but still require some medical attention. They are at home because of the comfort level it offers. Aids should be professional, but relaxed. Do they have a pleasant disposition? Is the client comfortable around the aid? Do they talk and interact with each other. The interaction with each other should be fluid and easy going. A level of trust is required between the parties.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't be afraid to ask for a different care-giver. Sometimes the client and the aid just DO NOT get along.
• Develop a level of trust with the care giver.
• Communicate with each other.
• Always be on the lookout for inaproppriate behaviors.
• Report abuse if it occurs.
• Be aware of local agencies that need to be notified of unlawful activities.

[mkoch]

on 10/10/2009 health care aide, thru an agency.

#1. AGENCIES – Home health care agencies make you sign a contract. This is solely for their benefit, not for yours. The two major issues in the contract are that the person they send to your loved ones home is an independent contractor and thus the Agency is not liable for any harm they cause your loved one. The second item is that if you like the aide you cannot hire them on your own (and thus cut the agency out of the picture) for one year or more. The Agencies typically have you pay them directly and then they pay the aide but some have you pay the aide directly and separately bill you for the agency fee which is normally $3.00 to $6.00 per hour for their fee for every hour the aide works.

#2. REFERENCES – The Agencies will try and discourage you from calling references and tell you “we do that for you to save you time.” Don’t listen to this...

[mkoch]

on 10/10/2009 In February of 2005 my mother had a debiliating stroke which left her homebound and necessitated 24/7 care in her apartment. She was dropped several times by home heatlth care aides and her wrist was so badly broken that the bones never fused together properly and she could not use a walker and thus was wheelchair bound. Aides verbally and physically abused her, were incompetent, untrained, irresponsible and unreliable. I wrote this article to help families find the proper home health care aide for their loved one.

Unless you are very affluent and can afford nurses 24/7 you will need to rely on home health care aides for your infirmed and homebound parent or spouse. There are three ways you can find an aide: thru a referral from someone who knows an aide which is very rare, an ad the aide puts in a newspaper under “situations wanted,” or the way most families hire a home hea...