We are an agency writing a guide about choosing an agency, so read it with that in mind. Every question below is one we are happy to be asked ourselves.
Ask how caregivers are background screened and whether it is fingerprint-based; whether you get the same caregiver consistently; what happens when your caregiver is sick; whether they can genuinely staff the hours you need including nights and weekends; who you call at 6pm on a Sunday; how they handle money and errands; and what they will not do. An agency that answers all of those specifically and volunteers its limits is telling you more than one that says yes to everything.
Ask all of them. The answers vary far more than you would expect:
An agency that agrees to every hour, every task and every distance without hesitating either has not understood the request or will not deliver it.
"All our caregivers are thoroughly vetted" is not an answer. Ask what kind of check, run by whom, and when.
A firm quote before anyone has understood the situation means the number will change, or the service will not fit.
Nobody arranging care for a parent should be closed like a car sale. Urgency is the family's, not the agency's.
Whether they will tell you the truth when it costs them the sale. You cannot verify that from a website, but you can test it: describe your situation and see whether the agency ever says “that part is not us”.
An agency that never draws a boundary is either not listening or does not have any. Both cost you later, usually at the worst possible moment.
Not automatically. Size gives you backup cover when a caregiver is sick; a smaller local agency usually gives you more consistency and someone who actually knows your case. Ask both about the other one's advantage — how they handle sick cover, and how they keep the same caregiver on your case.
Hiring privately can be cheaper, but you become the employer — screening, taxes, insurance, and finding cover when that person cannot come. An agency handles those. It is a real trade-off and worth thinking about honestly.
Reviews help but read the replies as much as the reviews. Ask for a family you can speak to. Ask a hospital discharge planner or a hospice social worker who they see doing good work locally — they know.
Say so in the first week rather than the fourth. Most problems are a caregiver-personality mismatch and are easy to fix early. An agency that reacts badly to that feedback has told you something useful.
Personal Touch Home Care provides non-medical in-home care. Our caregivers assist with daily living, safety and companionship. They do not provide nursing, wound care, injections, physical therapy or any service requiring a licensed clinician. If that is what is needed, it is a home health agency, and we will tell you so.
Call and describe what is happening at home. We will tell you what we can do, what we cannot, and what it would take.
