Frequently Asked Home Care Questions

The following are some of the most frequently asked questions by families in search of senior care for their aging parent, grandparent or loved one. If you do not see your question listed below, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at Call (207) 835-3490 where a Care Manager will be more than happy to assist you.

WHAT IS HOME CARE?

In-home care provides seniorsor adults of any age with one-to-one careassistance in the comfort of their own home. This enables them tocontinue to live independently. Align Home Care work alongside our clients to help themmaintain their quality of life.Thepersonal attention they receive vastly improves their safety, health and happiness. Our servicesinclude assistance with activities of daily living such as meal preparation, bathing, transportation, laundry, medication reminders, light housekeeping and companionship.

MY PARENTS ARE RELUCTANT…?

Convincing older adults that they need help at home can be challenging. While they balk at the thought of losing independence, the opposite is actually true. By having a little help, they are much more likely to retain their independence because they remain in control of decisions affecting their lifestyle. Once a crisis occurs (a fall, dehydration, a severe UTI), decisions about their care will be in the hands of others. With professional home care, families can enjoy peace of mind knowing their loved ones are in safe and caring hands.

 

We have a few ideas:

 

  1. Ask your parents to try home care, at least temporarily. Once they meet their caregiver and see how nice it is to have an extra set of hands, “temporary” almost always becomes permanent.
  2. Come up with another name for “caregiver.” Some of our clients are more receptive to having a personal assistant or a housekeeper/chef.
  3. Ask your parents to do this for YOU agree to a meeting with our owner. Once your parents meet our owner and understand that our company shares their goal of remaining at home, it’s a less threatening proposition.

WHO PAYS FOR HOME CARE?

The services offered by home care companies like ours are not covered by the government unless an agency is working directly with a specific state-funded program. At this time Medicare is also not covering in home non-medical care


At Align Home Care we are a private pay company. We also accept Long Term Care Insurance Policies. Navigating long term care insurance practices is not an easy venture and can be quite time consuming and stressful. At Align Home Care we are “subject matter experts” and are happy to help you navigate the claim process removing the stress!

WHY SHOULD I USE AN AGENCY?

There are families that feel that hiring a private caregiver is a more cost-effective way of keeping your loved one cared for and living safely at home. In some cases that could be true if your loved one’s care needs are very low. Private IS an option but there is more that should be taken into consideration before jumping into this option!!


Hiring privately puts you into a position of becoming the supervisor in all aspects and it is not always easy! The responsibility of screening an applicant, getting background checks, reference checks, and driver’s records is all on YOU and your family. We have a very rigorous system for screening and interviewing caregivers. Our management team all has a part in the hiring process so the caregivers that we hire to work with our clients are interviewed several times and by several different managers all seeing the applicants qualities from different angles.


Our caregivers are trained, supported, equipped with a customized care plan written by a qualified care manager. They are bonded and insured by Align Home Care which protects you and your family from lawsuits that could arise out of an in the course of their time with your loved one. Our caregivers are our employees, which means we pay all of their taxes (social security, employment tax) and Worker’s Compensation and personal time off. Caregivers CAN become injured on the job, and the Worker’s Compensation Bureau CAN come to your loved one looking for compensation if your caregiver files a claim and you have not provided that insurance coverage for them. you do not have to deal with any of these essential pieces involved when receiving a caregiver into your loved one’s home!


Think about when your private caregiver calls out sick or must head out of town to take care of a sick family member, you’re stuck finding a replacement or taking care of your loved one yourself. When you use a company like ours, there is always back-up. To continue care while your primary caregiver is out


Our caregivers work under a care plan developed by an expert in the field, and they have a team of supervisors who keep a close eye on the level of care being provided ensuring that the care plan is being executed properly. It takes a lot more coordination than people think.


Most important, however, is the fact that when you choose Align Home Care, you are hiring an entire team of people who care!. Aligning with other community care partners is necessary and not always advocated for. We have your loved one’s best interests ALWAYS in mind and we are there for the journey!

HOW DO YOU DIFFER?

The most significant feature of our company is our approach to home care. We’re not interested in “adult babysitting” and we are not simply a housekeeping service. We provide ongoing care management to ensure that the care is of the highest standard and that our caregivers are helping our clients lead high-quality, purposeful lives in a manner that gives your loved one as much independence as possible. Our reputation says it all. See what some of our clients and caregivers have said about us under the Reviews tab on this website. If you would like to talk to someone who knows and has worked with us, call us and ask for a reference.

 

We specialize in live-in care, providing a quality alternative to an assisted living or skilled nursing facility. As you will see on our website, so many pieces of our philosophy contribute to our success: consistency in caregivers, a solid system for screening caregivers, a unique balanced approach to care culture, and more. If you decide to interview several home care companies, you need to keep us on your short list. The cohesiveness of the management team is the key to a success journey with home care. So… be sure that you get to know WHO those manager are and feeling comfortable with their philosophy of care and communication practices.

DO I HAVE TO SIGN A CONTRACT?

No. While we have an agreement that spells out expectations, policies and procedures, we do not require a long-term commitment to our services. One of the reasons we are so successful is our attention to matching clients and caregivers. After our initial meeting and assessment with you or your loved one, our Care Manager will have an excellent idea of the level of care needed and the type of personality and skill level needed to that would be a good fit. At that point, our care team brainstorms on which of our employees would be a good fit. Nearly 100% Most of the time, we are right on target with our “matchmaking” skills. However, anytime during the relationship that the client wants to change caregivers — for any reason — we willingly do so. Before placing judgement on how things are going we will ask that you give the team a little bit of time to tweak and “settle into” a perfect fit. Relationships don’t always happen in the first shift. Relationships are a process and we are here to help move that comfort level by setting EVERYONE up for success “right out of the gate” Our intention is to build long relationships through your home care journey.