How Long Are Home Care Turn-Around Times?
Home care turn-around times are the single most important factor in helping families in crisis. There’s a common expression in our office: “Nothing good happens on a Friday after 2 pm.”
When hospitals and rehab units discharge their patients, many of these departments close for the weekend. However, we know that we need to provide immediate attention when we receive these calls each week.
Some agencies do this better than others.
We were once called the day after a fall occurred. The client’s mother was about to be discharged from the hospital on a Friday afternoon. Of course, no one in this family was ready for this timing. They didn’t have a plan to get together hospital discharge care with such short notice.
Frankly, most families don’t.
As the baby boomer generation ages and increasingly relies on senior care service, the challenge to provide care falls on adult children. More of these boomers’ children live out of state, complicating their ability to support aging parents. In some instances, distance makes home care impossible.
What you’ll learn in this article:
Home Care Turn-Around Times: How Do I Get Started?
There are plenty of reasons why the home care company you choose should have fast turn-around times. For example, when you need hospital discharge and rehab services, you need them quickly, suddenly, and unexpectedly.
You should look for an agency that:
- Will answer the phone during business hours,
- Doesn’t rely on answering services, voicemails, or automated messages,
- Provides easy, on-call services after-hours and on weekends,
- Is happy to accommodate services on weekends or after business hours.
When you need help quickly, Minute Women is the type of agency that can take care of your parents.
Can Your Agency Provide Immediate Service?
The easiest way to find out is to ask an agency directly. Most will be honest about their home care turn-around times. One tip to learn if an agency can quickly respond to emergency cases is by looking at their staff page on their website.
If you see that they have an HR Manager or a Recruiter on staff, the agency can likely provide immediate services in a crisis.
The reason is that the primary focus of these roles is to recruit, hire, and onboard caregivers. Therefore, the more quality caregivers an agency has, the better equipped they are to accept emergency cases.
It would be the equivalent of a car dealership having limited stock and asking you to wait a few weeks when you’re looking to purchase a car today. Some agencies are just more prepared than others.
Minute Women’s Hospital and Rehab Discharge Plan
Minute Women has helped thousands of families in crisis. We’ve onboarded seniors after-hours and even on Christmas Eve.
When a call comes in for immediate service, our goal is to provide quality caregivers. Therefore, we take the time to understand the situation’s goals and objects.
We’re not bound to closing the office at 5 pm. We’ll still work with you to ensure we have services for your mom or dad.
When time is a factor, we’re more concerned about finding a quality caregiver than matching long-term availability. Sometimes, that needs to wait until after the weekend or holiday has passed.
If our original caregiver isn’t a fit, we can reassess and find a replacement caregiver.
A last-minute discharge or emergency goal can leave you scrambling for options, but don’t worry. We’ll find you a caregiver that can provide your mom or dad with quality care on your schedule. Above all, we provide peace of mind that someone is there to watch over your parents.
Do you need immediate help with your soon to be discharged loved one?
Minute Women Can help! Call us now!