Did you know that older adults who are soon to be elderly are considered the fastest-growing segment of the American population? 

Needless to say, the market is (finally) starting to meet the sheer demand for better options and model assistance for seniors. One of the most successful models so far has been home care and home assistance services. 

After all, those are the least-invasive and comprehensive models to provide high-quality care, without decimating the independence of your aging loved one. Yet, choosing home assistance services that match your needs can be an intense process. 

If you’re drowning in research, or you’re just starting to look into this topic, no worries. We’ve got you covered. Keep on reading for our full breakdown of the main five factors you need to consider to get the right home care experience your loved one deserves. 

1. Choosing Home Assistance Services 101: Recommendations and References

We can’t really start our deep dive into the key elements that can tell you whether a home assistance service is as good as its market, without highlighting the importance of getting the right recommendations and references. 

This should be your very first step. If you already have family or friends who had to look for home care providers, make sure you compare notes. 

Yet, if you can get your hand on some golden word-of-mouth recommendations, you can always reach out to trusted professionals and other community members who will know more about the home assistance field than you do. 

Whether it’s your primary doctor, your chiropractor, or even your attorney, ask everyone that you trust to have your best interests at heart.

However, if you can’t get any information from your contacts and acquaintances, you can always just give your local hospital or medical care facility a call. The sad part is those institutions don’t tend to make specific recommendations. But, they’ll give you an overview of the services that are available in your area. 

The same rule applies if you’re looking for housing assistance. When in doubt, ask around. 

2. Determine Your Appropriate Kind of Care

Generally speaking, you’ll find that in-home care tends to be divided into two categories. The first is skilled nursing therapy or care. And, the other is non-medical support given by a certified nursing assistant or other care professionals. 

You’ll want to go with skilled nursing if your aging relative is dealing with a specific health condition or a chronic illness. It’s a type of professional medical care that involved a doctor’s prescriptions. 

This category is also fitting for ones who are recovering from operations or severe injuries that need solid medical attention. 

On the other end of the care spectrum, you can go for non-medical support in the form of a certified nursing assistant or care professional. This category deals with providing help with the daily tasks and activities that your loved one can’t do on their own anymore. 

For instance, if they need some mobility help or aid with household chores and running errands, then non-medical support will be more than enough to provide a higher quality of life to your aging loved one. 

In addition, there might be cases where you’ll need both these types of services to work together. For example, if you have a relative that’s fresh out of major surgery, but they have an independent streak a mile wide. You’ll want to ensure that they have sufficient medical attention and care that would be able to recognize any complications. Also, they’ll need help with some basic household tasks. 

Now that you’re familiar with what kinds of care you need, you can start asking the right questions in regards to any facility’s services and what they can provide. If you’d rather deal with one health service, you’ll want to pick one that offers customized care. 

3. Ask About Their Training and Staff Recruitment

No one wants to play Russian roulette with their own healthcare or that of their loved ones. 

You’ll want to confirm whether the agencies that made it to your final list conduct sufficient background checks or not. Also, do they only hire candidates with a specific level of qualifications? 

Unfortunately, some agencies like to function as merely a middleman and are unwilling to back or take responsibility for their employees. 

You’ll want to pick an agency that invests in their care providers. This can take the form of proving specialized medical training, with an equal amount of both theoretical and practical knowledge. 

4. Start Speaking With the Actual Providers

Once you’re done talking with the people in the upper levels of management, it’s time to get real opinions and anecdotal evidence from the actual staff. 

After all, those will be the people who will be directly caring for your loved one. Start by asking them anything you wish about their daily operations. 

In the middle of your gentle questioning session, note whether they seem to be engaged with their patients. Are they attentive, competent, and informed? 

If the answer is no, then you’ll need to look for another agency. But, if the answer is yes, you’ll want to know how they handle evaluations of your situation and create effective care plans. 

5. Check Their Contact Protocols

The final factor you’ll want to check is whether this agency has a 24/7 contact protocol or not. 

Basically, if anything happens on any day of the week, can they be easily contacted or not? A good agency should provide 24-on-call assistance in cases of emergencies.

After all, healthcare professionals know that your loved one’s condition can change at a moment’s notice. They need to be accessible at all times to meet their needs. 

Exploring Home Assistance Service Options

We know how overwhelming and stressful it can be to pick the right home assistance service. Hopefully, our explainer has shed some light on the key five elements that can help you narrow down your search parameters when choosing home assistance services. 

Remember to always start with asking for references and recommendations, and you’ll be good to go. 

And, if you liked our article, make sure to check out our additional tips and advice, all available to you in our health section.