Researching home care services for your parent can be an intimidating experience if you’re new to the process. The more you understand about in-home senior care, the better the chances that you’ll find a provider you can trust.  With so many different agencies available, it is a daunting task to vet all of them.

One key area of competency is the speed at which an agency can start care services.

Often families find themselves in a crisis.  When scrambling for services, many wonder how quickly home care services can start once you find the right provider. You’ll find those answers and more below.

In This Article, We’ll Cover:

  • What are the most common situations for home care needs?
  • What is the ideal timeline for setting up services?
  • How do “emergency/immediate need” situations work?
  • How should you prepare for home care services?

Common Emergency Situations

There are three main scenarios where people call a home care company for full-time care (anything over 40 hours a week).

Of course, every case is slightly different, but you will find yourself in one of these categories. These situations are for families who need home care quickly and not someone just looking for transportation services or respite services for the future.

Immediate – Generally, people find out that a parent just fell or was released very soon from a hospital or rehab facility. Families need a lot of care immediately.

The number of hours is usually between 10-24 hours a day of care because adult children need to work or cannot quickly dedicate so much time to their parents.

Short-Term Timetable – A senior discharges from a hospital and returns home in a few days to a week. This category provides sufficient time to go through the hiring process without rushing or cutting out steps. Families tend to move quickly but not in a panic.

Long-Term Timetable – Mom or Dad isn’t going to need care for a few weeks. Their children are just checking in on what services are available to know what home care services are available.

For example, dementia presents a challenging scenario where someone is taking care of a parent who is gradually losing mental acuity. In these instances, caregivers will defer to adult children to act as their parents’ primary decision-makers. Meanwhile, the home care agency will provide a comprehensive list of services with the appropriate hourly care.

The Ideal Time-Line For Home Care Services

It’s usually best to have about a week (5-6 business days) to implement home care services for a senior. It takes about five working days on this timeline.

Day 1

Firstly, we understand the senior’s needs and review a contract.

Day 2-3

Secondly, one of our nurses conducts an assessment and begins looking for the right caregiver in your area.

Day 3-4

Thirdly, the client or adult children interview our caregivers over the phone (or interview them in person over multiple days).

Day 5-6

Lastly, going forward, we conduct final interviews and place a caregiver into the home.

Having roughly five to six days provides an adequate amount of time to understand our client’s needs and find qualified caregivers available to work. It also ensures that family members have the opportunity to meet and interview the caregiver(s) before the case begins.

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