Sep 18 2009
Home Health and Home Care Agencies in Florida
This week’s “Friday’s Featured Facility” is actually not a facility but a senior living option that provides services to the elderly in their own homes. There are two different types of services:
- home health agencies, which are licensed to send both skilled (RN’s, Therapists, Social Workers) and unskilled (home health aides, certified nursing assistants, homemaker/companions) staff into a patient’s home. These services are usually covered by Medicare.
- home care/companion agencies, which employ individuals to do housekeeping, cook, run errands and provide companionship. These types of services are private pay, and not covered by anything except some long-term care insurance policies and veterans benefits.
There are hundreds of both types of agencies throughout Florida. If you are considering this type of care for yourself or an elderly family member, you should review this Home Health Guide provided by Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration.
Jennifer Campbell, Age Advantage Home Care
I recently met Jennifer Campbell, who owns Age Advantage, a home care agency serving Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties. Jennifer says she currently has about 60 employees that serve her elderly clients for as little as four hours at a time up to live-in care. Jennifer’s agency employs companions, home health aides and certified nursing assistants, so she can provide a wide range of services.
“We basically do anything a family member would do but can’t,” she explained. Jennifer believes as the baby boomer generation continues to age, more and more of them will opt for in-home services. “I think it is a trend. The baby boomers are not going to go to facilities. And people are living longer than they ever were so they will need this type of assistance.”
Jennifer says that the benefits of hiring an agency such as hers include: back-up caregivers, caregiver replacement, bonding, insurance and licensing, supervision of staff, background checks, worker’s compensation, and experienced caregivers. Caregivers are available 24 hours a day, 365 days.
Before selecting a home care agency, Jennifer suggests you ask these questions:
1. Are your caregivers employees?
2. What are your hiring requirements?
3. Are your caregivers supervised? How often?
4. How do you know if your caregiver has reported to work?
5. How long does it take you to replace a caregiver who has not shown up to work?
6. Can you be reached outside of business hours? How quickly?
7. Do you develop a comprehensive care plan with the patient prior to services? Is this information shared with the caregiver?
8. What benefits do you offer your caregivers? (caregivers with benefits are long term caregiver’s)
9. Do you require the client’s to sign a service agreement? Do you require a deposit?
To understand all the different types of senior care options available in Florida, visit the definitions page on Florida Senior Living Advisor.