Home Care FAQs
What’s the difference between in-home senior care and home health care?Home care is a broad term used to describe several forms of care provided in-home. Generally, it covers personal care (bathing, dressing, toileting, feeding, transferring, grooming), homemaking services (light housekeeping and chores) and companionship services, which may include personal shopping, transportation, and socialization. Home health care refers to nurses and other medical professionals that provide specific medical services, such as physical therapy, wound care, etc., on an appointment basis. In-home senior care is paid privately, whereas home health care is prescribed by a physician and covered by Medicare or supplemental insurance providers.
How should I choose an agency for in-home care?
Choose an agency that will provide all the services you need for your parent or loved one. If you need help identifying these, speak with a doctor, geriatric care manager or hospital discharge planner if the person just left the hospital. These people can refer you to reputable agencies.
Is your agency licensed by the state?
Yes, our agency is licensed by the state of California. We accept private pay and long-term care insurance.
How quickly can services begin?
Services can begin promptly. It is not unusual for private paying clients to be admitted the same day.
Are there designated shifts I have to choose from?
Our scheduling gives you the flexibility to arrange the precise hours that you need. You do NOT have to pick from designated shifts!
When is overtime incurred?
By California law, in-home caregivers are required to be paid overtime (time-and-a-half) after 9 hours per day, and after a total of 45 hours per week. Virtue Home Care pays all of its caregivers full overtime, but does not charge the client the full time-and-a-half. It’s just one way we try to make things as easy as possible for our clients.
What about a live-in caregiver?
Due to California regulations, a caregiver cannot be with the same client for a continuous 24-hour period unless they are paid for each hour, whether or not they are sleeping. Furthermore, anything above 9 hours per shift constitutes overtime. As a result, “live-in” shifts become prohibitively expensive for most clients. When an individual needs 24-hour coverage, it is usually divided into two 12-hour shifts.
Are your employees insured and bonded?
All of our caregivers are fully employed by us and are insured and bonded through our company. We also conduct a thorough background check on each employee to ensure that they are trustworthy to be in your home. This is done by a fingerprint clearance through the FBI and the Department of Justice.
Is there consistency among caregivers?
Yes. We always strive for familiarity and consistency. However, we have an excellent back-up system that guarantees coverage in the event of an emergency or illness of your caregiver.
Do you conduct personality matches to ensure that caregivers will be a good fit for my mother/dad?
In an effort to try to match the right caregiver with our clients, on admission we ask about client preferences/likes/dislikes. Our management team knows each of our caregivers well, so we can determine who is best suited for a particular case.
Can my loved one be taken care of safely at home?
Often, patients who are hospitalized develop complications, such as infections. When someone is cared for at home, the risk of infection is much lower. Home care provides one-on-one attention and allows the client and family to have more involvement in the care. Our expert team also provides training to the client and family on how to make the home environment safer by assessing the home setting and making suggestions on infection control and adaptive equipment.
Is driving included?
Our caregivers are available to drive their clients to various appointments and outings. Often, the client prefers his or her own car be driven. However, in the event that the caregiver’s car is used, a modest mileage fee will be charged.
What if my loved one is in the hospital or skilled nursing?
Our caregivers will take care of your loved one no matter where they are. Often, having extra monitoring while your loved one is in the hospital can literally be a life saver.
Why should I choose your agency?
Virtue Home Care has the most compassionate, skilled, well-trained, and thoughtful team of professional caregivers. Our caregivers go through rigorous training, including on-the-job training, and we boast a remarkably high caregiver tenure (over 4 years, on average). In addition, our management team is always available – we will never leave you hanging!