At Assisted Living Services, Inc. we put a great deal into creating the “right match” when assigning a home care employee with a senior who lives at home. It is important for several reasons, but mostly it can be very disruptive and stressful to clients and their families if we need to make a switch.
It adds stress to the client because, generally speaking, seniors do not like change. It is also disruptive to the family because now they have to participate in a new introduction and orientation, and it is costly to both the employee and the agency. We try very hard to “do it right the first time” and it starts with making sure our caregivers have the skills and motivation they need to be the best home caregivers in Connecticut.
For making the best matches, these are some of our strategies: First when performing an intake assessment on a new client, we ask alot of detailed questions besides just the type of care they need. For example, we may ask what type of personality the clients has (i.e. “Are they introverted or outgoing?”) We understand that some people may not want a caregiver that forces small talk, or they may want a caregiver that is worldly and interested in engaging on current events, sports, or politics.
We want to know about the client’s past career, or some things about the family that may be helpful in making a choice. We certainly ask about whether there are pets, and if the client is a smoker or non-smoker. It is also important to know if the client needs a caregiver that drives.
Understanding as much as possible about both client and family expectations will certainly contribute to making the right choice. Most importantly, we encourage that the client, family, prospective caregiver, and agency manager meet before the start of services. We do this because we really want everyone to be happy with the match. Our agency has an excellent success rate at making good matches, but even we sometimes need to make a switch. And when we do, it’s done with as little disruption and added stress as possible.
Finally, after we start a new case, we make sure we are in frequent contact with the client, family, and caregiver, and as part of our Quality Assurance Program, we make unannounced visits to see for ourselves how things are going.
If you would like a free phone consultation, or an in-home assessment anywhere in Connecticut, feel free to call me personally at 203.634.8668 and ask for Ron.
Thanks!
