Getting Started with In-Home Care
While every client situation is unique, there are many common questions we get from those new to in-home care. Our getting started resources can help you evaluate if in-home care is right for you and your loved one.
Take the Online Care Assessment
Is in-home care right for your loved one? Take our online care assessment to see if now is the right time to move forward with in-home care.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the benefits of personal in-home care versus a senior facility?
Most seniors prefer to remain in the comfort of their own home as they age. While senior facilities can offer extensive services and community, research supports that at home is best. Seniors who remain in their own home with a nurturing, supportive environment will continue to be more socially engaged, physically active and achieve a greater state of wellbeing.
However, this usually puts a good deal of strain on the family to take on the ever-increasing caregiver responsibilities for seniors as they age -- especially those with chronic conditions such as Dementia or Parkinson’s.
Opting for in-home care assistance relieves the family of many of these duties. Additionally, our in-home care provides one-on-one individualized care and caregiving expertise that families often need as their loved ones' condition becomes more challenging.
Why work with an agency instead of hiring your own caregiver?
Hiring an in-home caregiver without the support of a fully licensed and bonded home-care agency is a complicated process. First of all, the responsible family member would be required to recruit, interview, screen, hire and train the caregiver. If a caregiver doesn’t work out the family goes through the process (and deals with the interim) again as opposed to having the experienced and well-resourced agency manage the effort. Also, the family will need to have options available for sick days, vacations, turnover, etc.
Plus, when hiring independently, additional family responsibilities include filing payroll taxes and providing insurance coverage for general liability, workers’ compensation and caregiver bonding. Obtaining these insurance policies can be a daunting, timely and expensive task.
In addition, hiring a caregiver without insurance puts your family at significant financial risk for workers’ compensation payments and liability damages. With a full-service agency the family has no responsibility for employment, injuries or disputes.
With Open Arms Solutions, all of these administrative responsibilities, not to mention care planning, training, ongoing in-person care management visits and back-up care (in the event of vacations, sick days and weekends) are taken care of —so you and your loved one can rest assured and focus on the business of being a family.
How do I know if my loved one needs in-home care?
There are many factors involved in determining when is the right time for in-home care, or if it is the best choice for your family.
The best way to gauge if now is the time to start in-home care assistance is to
take our preliminary online assessment. This assessment will help you identify signs that it may be time to take the next step.
What a chronic condition, and why do you specialize in chronic care?
A chronic condition is a human health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects, or a disease that comes with time. Common chronic conditions in seniors include Dementia, Parkinson’s, ALS, stroke, COPD to CHF.
Chronic care conditions such as the ones listed below have sensitive needs and often present more challenges for caregivers. We focus our caregiver training and design our caregiving programs specifically to address these sensitive needs.
What is inspired care?
What training do your caregivers go through?
Even before training, we invest in making sure that we recruit caregivers who share our passion for senior care. We look for those who demonstrate values that we believe are critical to creating meaningful caregiving experiences.
Additionally, all Open Arms Solutions Caregivers have at least two years of experience working with seniors in some capacity and a minimum of six months of prior senior caregiving.
During the onboarding process, they go through a company-specific orientation. This training covers many personal care topics including:
- The latest transferring techniques
- Background on the most common chronic conditions such as Dementia and Parkinson’s
- Strategies to handle challenging client situations
- All required training by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Open Arms Solutions care professionals also undergo online training annually to stay current on the latest techniques and strategies.
Do you have minimums?
We can provide in-home care on an hourly or live-in basis. We ask families for a minimum of 6 hours of care in a day for at least 3 days a week.
How does Open Arms handle the introduction of a family member to a caregiver?
We believe that proper introductions are important to help our clients feel comfortable.
Whenever possible, our client’s care coordinator will meet the new caregiver at the client’s home during their first shift to help with the transition. The care coordinator can help facilitate conversations, find shared interests and help both the client and the caregiver fully understand needs and expectations.
Our care coordinators ensure that both the client and caregiver feel ready and prepared with needs and expectations over the phone prior to the greet.
Our care coordinators play an integral part in the transition to care and will also continue to serve as a valued resource during our client’s entire experience.
What training do your caregivers go through?
Even before training, we invest in making sure that we recruit caregivers who share our passion for senior care and demonstrate values that we believe are critical to creating meaningful caregiving experiences. Additionally, all Open Arms Solutions Caregivers have at least two years of experience working with seniors in some capacity and a minimum of six months of prior senior caregiving.
During the onboarding process, they go through a company-specific orientation. This training covers many personal care topics including the latest transferring techniques, background on the most common chronic conditions such as Dementia and Parkinson’s, strategies to handle challenging client situations as well as all required training by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Open Arms Solutions care professionals also undergo online training annually to stay current on the latest techniques and strategies.
How do you match a caregiver with a loved one?
The Caregiver-Client match is critical and we believe that caring is more than just a job, it is a way of life.
In order to find the right match, our team takes into consideration a client’s likes and dislikes, key personality traits and social demeanor.
Once we have a solid understanding of our client’s needs and personality, our Scheduling Team searches through our roster of over 300 Caregivers to find someone with the right personality traits and the skills to safely take care of your loved one.
Do you have staff on-call for emergencies?
We maintain on-call access to staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If a caregiver fails to show due to illness or an emergency our on call staff will assist you in providing care coverage.
Helpful Downloads
How To Pay For Senior Care
Tackle one of the most daunting questions families face with our guide. Here you’ll learn more about the options available to you and your loved one.
Comparing In-Home Care Options
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of working with Open Arms versus hiring independently or working with an agency.