1) How skilled are your caregivers?
Our caregivers are some of the highest-trained home health aides in West Michigan. We invest great time and resources into making sure they are well-trained in all aspects of caregiving. This includes: vital signs, bed baths, transfers, working with gait belts, hoyer lifts, bowel programs, autonomic dysreflexia, range of motion, CPR, nutrition, colostomy care, charting, patient rights, confidentiality and many other skills.
We also require our caregivers obtain continued education units regularly. We provide additional training for Closed Head and Spinal Cord Injuries. In addition to all of this, we offer training that covers the softer side of caregiving to improve upon their professionalism, communication and other interpersonal skills so that you feel comfortable with each caregiver.
2) What do you charge per hour for your services?
Industry standard for home health aides on weekdays starts at $32 an hour and we are competitive with that pricing. Please call us at 616-531-9973 to learn more about our pricing or have a nurse come out to do a free home-visit and answer any questions you may have.
3) Do you have caregivers available that can come on short notice?
That’s an answer that can change daily due to employees schedules, employees that have been oriented to the clients’ home, etc. We have a daily list of employees that would like extra hours, new employees and employees who lost hours due to their client going on vacation, hospital, etc. Typically, we prefer as much notice as possible or at least 24 hour notice. Though we understand that things can change quickly and 24 hours isn’t always an option. Please call us as soon as you find out that you need help and we’ll do our best to put something together for you.
4) What organization do you use for doing background checks on the caregivers you send to us?
Background checks are done though our HR department, and are a requirement to have before hire. We do professional reference checks, personal reference checks and all employees are run for a criminal background check through the State of Michigan’s ICHAT system.
5) Are your caregivers insured and bonded?
Yes, they are.
6) What qualifications, licensing, certifications, experience and training do you require of your workers?
Our employees are of all skill levels: RN’s, LPN’s, CENA’s and HHA’s. We care for a variety of clients with many different care levels such as Traumatic Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injuries (quadriplegics and paraplegics,) special needs children on Trach’s and ventilators, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, stroke’s, and basic daily living. Each client is specific as to the care that needs to be delivered and we will send the appropriate caregiver pending on the skill needed for that particular client. We do case specific training as each home is different. We have licensed RN’s & LPN’s that train our aides and have a training classroom in our facility. Some employees are new to the health care field and fresh from training and some are seasoned veterans that have been with us for 30 plus years. If the employee isn’t comfortable with the care being delivered we will provide more training or move a different caregiver on the case.
7) Is your agency certified and/or accredited by any state or federal government agency?
YES! We are a Medicare Certified agency and accredited with (CHAPS) Community Health Accreditation Program.
8) Can you provide references for your agency, and for the potential caregivers that you send to us?
Yes, we would be happy to provide references for both the agency as a whole and individual caregivers.
9) Will it be possible for us to interview the in-home caregivers before they start?
We send each caregiver out to the home for an orientation before they start shifts at the home. After the orientation, you can let us know if you feel comfortable with the caregiver. If you’re not comfortable or feel that it’s not a good match (personality, skill level, etc…) let us know and we can send another caregiver. We are always welcoming to your preferences.
10) How does your agency hire and train caregivers?
We recruit from many different areas including local colleges, employment sites, social media, and our favorite, referrals from current employees. After a background check and interview, we hire them if we feel they match well with company values of care, respect, and responsibility. We then assess their skill level and have an RN or LPN teach them in any areas that they are lacking.
11) How do you monitor your caregivers for quality of care given?
We are in constant communication with our caregivers and monitor their activity to ensure the highest quality of care is being delivered. This is done through nurse supervisory visits, reports, nurse notes and other methods.
12) How long has your agency been in business?
We have been in business for 42 years. The founder Larry Treece started the company in Jenison, Michigan and it has grown to employee over 450 people. Yet we have maintained the family atmosphere. Our main office is in Grandville, Michigan servicing Kent and Ottawa counties and 10 years ago we expanded to Traverse City & Petoskey. Our branch up north is called Harbor Care Associates.
13) Will the same employee be assigned to our case on a consistent basis if we are happy with them? Or is your method to rotate the people you send to us?
One of our largest goals is to find the right set of caregivers that fit perfectly with you and your family. Many of our clients and caregivers become very close… even feel like family members themselves. The reality of life, however, is that sometimes our caregiver’s circumstances change and they move or finish school, etc. so we would need to send a new caregiver out to orientate. We do our best to keep your favorites in the home.
14) What is the process to get another person assigned to our case if we are not satisfied with the person you send to us?
If things aren’t working with a particular caregiver, call the office and we will start the process of getting you another caregiver to orientate. We try to work as quickly as possible.
15) Does your company have a Licensed Vocational Nurse or RN on staff?
Licensed nurses… Yes many of them! We have a director of nursing for Health Care Associates & another for Community Care Givers (Our Medicare Certified Agency).
16) What if I have a problem during non-business hours? How can I talk to someone?
We answer our phones 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year… without exception. You will always be able to talk to someone immediately to help you work through your concern. Of course, you can also email us by clicking here.
17. What insurances do you accept?
We accept most insurances, including:
ASR
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Blue Care Network
Blue Care Network Advantage
Care Centrix
Humana
Humana PFFS (Medicare)
Medicaid
Medicare + Blue
Medicare Part A UGS
Meijer/ARC (Workers Comp)
Priority Health HMO/PPO
Priority Health Medicaid
Priority Health Medicare Advantage
We are always working with new insurance providers, so please contact us! We may be able to provide you services through your insurance.