Home Care Agency Checklist Step #1: Review and interview at least 4 agencies. The official list of all licensed agencies that cover Manhattan can be found on the Department of Health’s website (we are #43 on this list I believe) Step #2: Print out this checklist below and ask these questions of every agency (our answers to these questions are in the middle column. We left an empty column so that you can fill in the responses from any other agency you interview) Questions you should ask before hiring an agency

Agency #1: Home Instead Senior Care (read our responses below) QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE AGENCY

How long has your agency been in business?

Home Instead Senior Care has been around since 1994. Christian and Claudia Steiner opened the Manhattan office in 2002.

What kind of qualifications does your agency have?

• Home Instead Senior Care is licensed as a full service home health agency with the NYS Department of Health and is licensed to provide every level of nursing care possible in the home • We are a member of the Home Instead Senior Care franchise network, the largest home care organization in the world with over 1200 offices in 15 countries. We follow the highest levels of elder care and customer satisfaction of any private organization in the world • We are evaluated 2 times a year by JD Power & Assoc.and have the highest possible scores for customer satisfaction in our field

Agency #2

Agency #3

Agency #4

  Questions you should ask before hiring an agency

Agency #1: Home Instead Senior Care (read our responses below)

Who are the owners? What is their background/experience in this industry?

Christian and Claudia Steiner are both attorneys who have over 22 years combined personal and professional experience working with the elderly

What services can your agency provide for my aging parents?

• Companionship • Bathing/ Toileting/ Personal Care • Alzheimer’s Care • Medication Reminders/ Administration • Meal Preparation/ Housekeeping • Shopping/ Errands/ Doctor’s Appointments • Skilled Nursing / Care Management

What other services can you coordinate thru referrals to providers who will take my mother’s Medicare policy as payment?

• Referrals for every type of physician

What kind of skilled employees do you have that can work with my aging parents?

We have over 250 of the following employees:

• Physical Therapy • Occupational Therapy • Speech Therapy • Visiting Internists • Visiting Podiatrists • Visiting Psychiatrists • Personal Care Aides (PCAs) • Home Health Aides (HHAs) • Cert. Nursing Assistants (CNAs)

Agency #2

Agency #3

Agency #4

  Questions you should ask before hiring an agency

Agency #1: Home Instead Senior Care (read our responses below) • Lic. Practical Nurses (LPNs) • Registered Nurses (RNs)

Does the agency have a local office in Manhattan?

Absolutely. We only cover Manhattan and our office is located on 400 East 56th St in midtown Manhattan. You are more than welcome to stop by at any time (announced or unannounced). We are the only agency that exclusively covers Manhattan.

Can I interview a representative from your office and caregiver before accepting care?

Absolutely and at no charge.

How do I know I can trust your employees?

We have one of the highest ratings through JD Power and Associates for customer satisfaction

Do your employees smoke?

Absolutely not

How many hours is a minimum shift?

5 hours on the weekdays 8 hours on the weekends

Is there a minimum # of shifts per week

No. You can have service every day or once a month or once every 3 months

How soon could your care start?

Within hours of our intake call, provided we conduct the required intake and assessment procedure

Is assistance on a weekend available?

Absolutely!

Are home care workers agency

Yes. All our employees are our employees (not independent

Agency #2

Agency #3

Agency #4

  Questions you should ask before hiring an agency

Agency #1: Home Instead Senior Care (read our responses below)

employees (with benefits and insurance)?

contractors), with the best compensation and benefit package in our industry

Is your agency bonded (insured against theft)?

Absolutely!

Is/are the caregiver(s) available for emergencies and/or on short notice?

Absolutely! We have people on call in Manhattan 365 days per year

Are they available on holidays?

Absolutely!

Are all your home care workers licensed or certified? Do you require that your employees renew their state licenses (if appropriate), keeping them current? Do you screen your workers for medical clearance? Do you screen your workers for criminal backgrounds? What are the qualifications of the person who will do my initial assessment? Does your agency pay the payroll taxes

EMPLOYEE RELATED QUESTIONS Absolutely! They are all certified and licensed under the professional requirements mandated by NY State for their specific job and training Absolutely! Every year they must comply with continuing education requirements Every employee has a yearly physical (including flu shots) and is screened for tuberculosis, drug and alcohol use, Hepatitis A,B,C/ HIV Every one of our employees has been subjected to a 50 state FBI fingerprint test. If anyone as much as gets stopped for Jwalking, we find out within 3 hours It is a registered nurse with over 30 years experience in geriatric nursing. There is no fee for this assessment We cover all of the following for our employees so you do not

Agency #2

Agency #3

Agency #4

  Questions you should ask before hiring an agency or do I have to?

Are workers trained, and is training ongoing? Does the agency have satisfied, longterm employees?

What do you charge per hour?

Are there any taxes, surcharges, fees for telephone consultations, quality assurance visits, referrals that you make on our behalf?

Agency #1: Home Instead Senior Care (read our responses below) need to worry - Social security payroll taxes - Medicare payroll taxes - Unemployment (federal and state) - Workers Compensation insurance - Disability insurance - General Liability insurance - Professional liability insurance - Overtime labor wages Yes, our employees are trained and supervised and tested on a monthly basis, covering all basic home health skills as well as skills covering dementia care, transferring, infection control Absolutely. Our turnover rate for employees is probably the lowest of any agency in Manhattan. Our average caregiver has been with us for over 4 years FINANCIAL QUESTIONS Live-out hourly rate: $22.50 an hour

Live-in rate (24 hours): $275 per day Absolutely not. Our rates as stated above are fixed and there

are no bells or whistles. We provide - unlimited telephone time to discuss anything at no charge - weekly to biweekly quality assurance visits - telephone consultations with doctors and social workers - unlimited referrals (including opening of cases and insurance claims)

Agency #2

Agency #3

Agency #4

  Questions you should ask before hiring an agency Do you charge for the initial assessment? Admin fees? Are there any additional costs for travel time or extra services (e.g. doing laundry or errands)? Do you accept private health care or long term care insurance?

Agency #1: Home Instead Senior Care

Agency #2

Agency #3

Agency #4

(read our responses below) No. We just answered that above (but don’t mind answering again) No. We just answered that above (but don’t mind answering again)

Absolutely. We work with over 100 long term care insurance

providers. We do all the paperwork so that you do not have to submit anything (ever!)

Step #3: Compare their answers to ours and then choose the agency you feel most comfortable with! If you feel that we are that agency, please call us at 212-614-8057 and we would be happy to help. If we are not, we thank you for spending the time to review this and wish you are your family the best!!!!