It isn't hard to find home health care companies in almost any town, but it can be hard to find one that you can feel completely confident with for your parent. To choose the right company, meet with several different ones and ask questions. When you find companies that seem competent and right for your parent, you should move on to the next step–checking references.
How To Obtain References
Almost any home health care company you talk to will be willing to give you references. These references should be clients that they have performed services for, and they should be recent. The company should give you the names of multiple clients, and you will be free to contact these individuals if you wish.
In addition to contacting the references you are given, you may want to ask each of them if they know other people that have used this company. If so, you could ask for their names and phone numbers, and then contact them as well.
Important Questions to Ask the References
There are so many different questions you could ask the references; however, you will not want to keep them on the phone for a long time. Because of this, you will need to narrow it down to asking the questions that will reveal the answers you are looking for, and this can include asking these questions:
- What were the dates of services? If the services were not within the last few months, you may want to call other references. A lot can change in a few months, and you will benefit most if you can find information that is current.
- Were you pleased with the services? This is one of the most important things you can ask, and you should listen closely. If you hear hesitation, it might mean that the person wasn't completely happy with the services.
- What would have made the services better? You can ask this question no matter what the answer was for the previous question. There are always things that can make services better, and this is a question that will reveal a lot of good information.
- Would you hire this company again? Finally, asking if they would rehire this company again can tell you a lot about how this reference really feels about the company.
There are many other things you can do to find the right company for your parent, and you can begin by contacting a home health care company in your area, such as Neighbors Home Care Services.
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