3 Tips for Choosing an Alameda or Santa Clara County Home Caregiver

Santa Clara County Home Caregiver

home care servicesFinding caregivers in Santa Clara or Alameda County can be a daunting task. The people you hire will be coming into your loved one’s home to perform personal care for and to spend time with someone you love. These people need to be dependable, honest, reliable and, above all, people that your loved one wants to spend time with. That’s a tall order to fill, but it is possible if you take some precautions and do your homework ahead of time. Professional home health care agencies such as Visiting Angels can help you with this undertaking – they are experienced in finding and hiring the right caregivers, and they know what types of services are appropriate to meet their clients’ home care needs.

Here are three tips that can help you find a Santa Clara or Alameda County home care agency you feel comfortable with and who will provide your loved one with the right home care services delivered by the right people:

  • Get a thorough needs assessment
    When you’re looking for a professional home care agency, one of the first things they should do is offer you an in-home care assessment. A qualified staff member, often a nurse, will visit your loved one’s home to assess the situation and ask questions about what is needed and what you expect. This allows the agency to come up with a personalized care plan that fits your loved one’s situation and specific needs. The agency should also work with your loved one’s physician, and others on the care team, and help coordinate other services as needed.
  • Ask who manages the care
    A professional home care agency will have a supervisor, oftentimes a nurse, who will perform regular check-ins and update your loved one’s care plan as needs change. Many clients also work with a professional geriatric care manager to assist with coordinating care and serving as the client’s advocate.
  • Plan for transitions in care, to limit the risk of surprises
    Care needs change over time. What first started as a need for basic assistance with daily activities and personal care may evolve to needing skilled healthcare and rehabilitative care; and this could move back to basic assistance again, depending on the situation. A professional home care agency can help make these care transitions as smooth as possible, making recommendations, coordinating care needs and assisting with the transitions.

If you are considering professional home care services for your loved one, Visiting Angels, which serves Alameda and Santa Clara counties, can help. Once a care plan has been developed, our care professionals will follow that plan and report back any changes that could mean that services need to be changed or added. We provide everything from basic home care services such as transportation and companionship,  to more intensive services, such as live-in or overnight care. We even provide a 24-hour emergency response system.

To learn more or to schedule a home care assessment, contact us via our webpage or by phone at 408-735-0977 in Sunnyvale, or 510-284-0000 in Fremont.