Home Care FAQs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• How Quickly Do Our Guardians Begin Their Services?
  Your care service can begin as soon as the initial inquiry. However, like any important decision, it is important to plan in advance as it can benefit you and our team. For instance, should you be preparing for hospital discharge in three days and may need assistance, you can call us so that we can discuss the situation and assist you with the entire process.
• Will There Be a Home Consultation Before the Start of Care?
  A Guardian Home Care manager will answer your inquiries and establish your need for our home care services. In addition, they will schedule an appointment to meet with you and the members of your family to fully assess and determine your individual needs.
• Will There Be a Written Care Plan Outlining the Duties of the Caregiver?
  A Guardian Home Care Registered Nurse will devise a customized and detailed care plan for all cases mandated by local licensing regulations. The care plan will be checked by the care coordinator and all the assigned Guardians.

• What Is a Care Plan?A Care Plan serves as a guide for providing you with hands-on care in the comfort of your own home. Our care coordinators will conduct an initial assessment for each new client, gathering information that will help develop a customized care plan. This will include sections presenting specific information about your personal needs and hygiene, nutrition plan, vital signs, elimination, activities, and other services. Our care coordinators will perform regular monitoring visits and will help in ensuring the care plan is accurately implemented.

  The Care Plan will be left at home and entrusted to the Guardian who will arrive for their shift. They will carefully read and follow the directions that it contains. If the Guardian feels that the care plan should be adjusted to best accommodate your current condition, he or she must see the care coordinator and ask that the plan be reviewed and amended if needed.

• What’s a Service Agreement?We will be providing you a Service Agreement which will outline the services that we will be delivering to you. This will include both your obligation to Guardian Home Care and our obligation to you. The agreement will state that as long as you continue to receive our services, and as long as we continue to provide you with our services, that you comply in paying for the care at the rates initially agreed upon. This Service Agreement will in no way obligate you to purchase any care services from us any time in the future.
• Will Transportation Be Available?Unfortunately, we do not directly provide you with transportation services. However, our caregivers will be able to assist you in arranging transportation services for your appointments or social gatherings.
• How Do We Differentiate Live-In Care, Round-the-Clock Care, and Hourly Care?For live-in services, a caregiver will be staying in your home to assist you. Live-in caregivers need a place to sleep, a proper time to sleep, and a bathroom they are able to personally use.

  On the other hand, round-the-clock care is provided to those who require close monitoring at all times. This type of care is billed hourly. The difference between live-in care and round-the-clock care is that caregivers providing round-the-clock care work in shifts to ensure that the client is well taken care of 24/7.

  Hourly care is convenient for those who only require intermittent assistance. This is available anywhere from 2 to 24 hours per day.

• Are You Able to Render Your Services in Places Other Than Your Clients’ Homes?Yes, we are able to perform our services in care facilities as well. Whether it’s in the hospital, assisted living facility or a care home, our Guardians can provide you with one-on-one care.

• How Often Will I Receive My Bills?Our billing procedures at Guardian Home Care may vary depending on the services provided. A Guardian representative will clarify your monthly billing procedures and options, including the due date of your payment.
• Are You Able to Bill the Long-Term Care Insurance Directly? Will You Be Able to Assist with Getting Services Pre-Authorized?As a licensed and certified home care agency, Guardian Home Care is able to bill your long-term care insurance company on your behalf. Furthermore, we are able to aid you in submitting all the needed documents to determine your eligibility to begin your insurance payments.
• Will Medicaid or Medicare Be Able to Pay for These Services?Those who want to avail of our services through Medicaid may only be able to gain access to it on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us to see if you may be eligible for it.
• What Happens if I Don’t Have Long-Term Care Insurance or Medicaid?Oftentimes, we come across individuals who may be in need of our services but do not possess a long-term care insurance or Medicaid to cover such. If you are one of these individuals, you need not worry. Our services are available through our private pay program.

  If you avail of our services through private pay, you can gain access to our services at a reasonable cost. With our flexible scheduling, you can also cut down costs so that you can have the care you need at the time you need it.

• What Are the Other Costs Associated with Your Care?You may be asked to pay a premium rate on holidays or mileage charges should a Guardian use their own care for transportation needs, whether appointments or errands.

• What Are Guardian Home Care’s Employment Practices?We are not like most home care companies that hire independent contractors. You can guarantee that our Guardians work with us full-time and each of them is an integral part of our agency.

  They undergo a comprehensive employment process, which includes:

  • Reviewing their past work experience
  • Previous work reference checks
  • License requirements
  • Verifying if they are able to work in the US
  • Required vaccinations and other medical examinations
  • National criminal background checks
  • Our very own CNA exam
  • Skills assessment and company policy and procedure orientation

  Also, Guardian Home Care staff members are licensed and covered by workers compensation and liability insurance.

• What Type of Training Do Your Caregivers Undergo?At Guardian Home Care, we provide ongoing training for our caregivers, which includes:
  • All state and federal in-service programs required to make certain that the caregiver’s licenses are up-to-date and in good standing
  • Ongoing monthly training, which include CPR and kosher meals, among others
  • Transfer and ambulation training by Registered Nurses (RNs)
  • Regular comprehensive competency assessment by RN
  • Training programs provided by national and local organizations, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, and Hospice
  • Oxygen safety at home
  • Cultural training
  • Depression recognition
  • Nutrition counseling by a licensed dietitian
  • Hospitality training
• How Will I Know If the Caregiver Is Providing the Sufficient Amount of Hours at the Schedule Times Agreed Upon When We Availed for the Service?Our team at Guardian Home Care utilizes a Telephone Reporting System to track the number of hours and arrival/departure time of every shift for every Guardian caregiver. Our caregiver will log in from the client’s phone upon arrival and log out from the client’s phone after his or her shift, using a special toll free number that is assigned to them. This will help us keep an accurate account of the hours rendered by the caregiver. The only time our staff may use the client’s phone is to log in or in case of emergencies.
• How Do You Monitor Your Caregivers?
  Once we start our care services, we create a plan and schedule that cover all the aspects of your care, and we go over this plan with the Guardian assigned to you. Our care coordinator will make regular visits and phone calls to make certain that the care plan is sufficient and that it is being executed accurately. The care coordinator, along with the you and your family members, will amend the care plan when needed.
• Will I Be Able to Choose My Caregiver or Will a Caregiver Be Assig
  Our team at Guardian Home Care values your preferences. That’s why we will arrange for an interview between you and caregiver we have selected to accommodate your needs. However, if you find that the caregiver does not match your requirements based on their personality or experience, we will have you meet with additional caregivers until we find the caregiver that best suit your needs.

Guardian Home Care is the ideal solution for aging adults who want to maintain their independence and dignity by continuing to live in the comfort of their own homes. Our caregivers make their lives easier by performing many of the tasks which have become difficult and tiring. Guardian Home Care provides a wide array of services, including companion services, personal assistance services, medical services, 24 hour care and case management.

Here are a few questions that you should be sure to ask all agencies:

• Are you licensed?
• Are your aides certified by the State?
• Do you perform criminal and DMV checks against your aides?
• Do you provide RN (Nursing) supervision?
• Does your agency take care of complete employee payroll responsibilities?

The answer to all of these with Guardian Home Care is yes!

Differentiating between home care and home health can be confusing. So here are a few key differences. Home Health Care is clinical medical care provided by skilled medical professionals and is often prescribed as a part of a care plan following a hospitalization. Services include therapy, skilled nursing and wound care. Home Health Care agencies are also often Medicare certified agencies. Home Care, like services offered by Guardian Home Care, provides non-clinical services such as activities of daily living, personal cares, housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders and companionship. Many families find that utilizing home health and home care in tandem can be very beneficial for an aging adult who, for example, is recovering after a hospitalization. The home health staff address clinical and rehabilitative needs during the transition home, while a home care aide can help with personal caregiving and household chores that the aging adult requires assistance with during his or her recovery. Our case managers and nurses can help determine the care that is appropriate for each client’s needs. Coordinating resources and providing peace of mind is what we do.

Home care provides a more cost-effective, comforting alternative to long-term care. In fact, studies have shown that patients do better at home both physically and psychologically. 24 hour care provides continuity of care, and peace-of-mind for client and family.

Guardian Home Care conducts an in-home assessment with each client to determine their home care needs. One of our registered nurses and our client care manager meet with the client and family to determine care needs. We also take into consideration information received from their case managers, social workers, discharge planners or physicians.

Guardian Home Care conducts an in-home assessment with each client to determine their home care needs. One of our registered nurses meets with the client and family to determine care needs. We also take into consideration information received from their case managers, social workers, discharge planners or physicians. The in-home assessment typically takes about an hour. After that we are able to set up care in a reasonably short amount of time. The assessment process not only helps us determine the care needs of the client, it also helps us to match them with the right caregivers. Caregivers are chosen based on their skill level and personality that will fit best with the client.

Guardian Home Care will determine the plan on care with the client and their family while taking into consideration the information received from their case managers, social workers, discharge planners or physicians. Often times, family members are also contributing in caring for our client, so we work with them to schedule care based on their biggest needs. For example, covering the daytime hours when family members are at work.

Regarding client’s physicians, we review discharge instructions and if we deem it necessary, we will have further consultation with physicians. All of our staff are trained on confidentiality and HIPPAA and it is an area that we review with them on an annual basis. If the client is okay with us contacting the family members, then we do so. We like to keep open communications with families of our clients. There are some clients though that do not want their family members contacted and we have to respect that as well.

Guardian Home Care is available 24/7—365 days a year. We have an after-hours answering service and someone on-call at all times to handle any emergencies that may arise. We also offer an emergency contact service through our case management team in the event our client may need to be taken to the hospital, emergency department or clinic unexpectedly.

We offer a full spectrum of medication management services, which are overseen by our registered nurses.

Yes! We are happy to transport people to appointments. Our case managers can transport the client in their own car or a Guardian Home Care vehicle. The case managers stay at the medical appointments and help the client to communicate with their health care provider as well as report back to the client and family and facility social worker if necessary. Caregivers can also transport clients for outings, adult day services and much more. At the time of the assessment we determine if these services are needed. If so, we have the client fill out paperwork allowing the caregivers to use the client’s car for transportation if necessary. Mileage fees are only charged if the client is using the caregiver’s personal car or one of the Guardian Home Care vehicles.

Guardian Home Care assess the home to see if it seems safe for the client, but also safe for our caregivers. If the client’s residence is unsafe for our caregivers we will choose not to provide services because we value our team too greatly to put them in harm. If there needs to be modifications made to the home we have those discussions with the client or family, for example if a home needs to have door alarms or if there needs to be a handrail added to a staircase. We can offer resources for families at the assessment about home safety modifications.

The aide is qualified to make a judgement about when to call the family, a doctor or 911. Guardian Home Care is available to assist the aide 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

When hiring our staff we take care to select the candidates with the best experience, but also the most compelling reasons for wanting the jobs. Since we’ve began focusing on each candidate’s “why” we have weeded out people just looking for a job and have really found quality caregivers looking for a career for which they can be proud.

We carefully select only the most qualified caregivers using a multi-step hiring process that includes state specific and national criminal background checks, employment history checks, license verification, personal reference checks and skills assessments. Caregivers who are not certified nurse aides have to complete a rigorous pre-employment training through the Relias Health Care Education. From there, each of our caregiver applicants must sign a confidentiality agreement, pass a competency exam, complete orientation and caregiver training and pass several on-line training modules.

Yes, Guardian Home Care covers all wages, payroll taxes and Workmans’ Compensation insurance.

We create a unique plan of care for each client. The client and/or responsible party signs off on the plan of care. As changes to the plan of care occur, we repeat the process of having the client and/or responsible party sign off on the changes and approve the plan.

Guardian Home Care is licensed through the MN Department of Health as a Comprehensive Home Care Provider. The Department of Health has a very robust oversight program that includes the initial licensing phase and ongoing surveys at our location.

Our team of registered nurses have a combined experience of nearly 110 years! They makes unannounced visits into the client’s homes while the caregivers are working in order to supervise their activities. The RNs help with caregiver skills assessments, monthly employee training, medication management training and they also do on-site training with caregivers at their first shifts with new clients to ensure they are properly caring for each client based on their individual needs.

For anyone who is not already a certified nursing aide, we require pre-employment training through Relias Health Care Education. All employees have orientation and a skills assessment with one of our Registered Nurses before starting cares with our clients. We offer monthly training for our caregivers as well as on-line training through Relias. Relias even offers a unique program that allows us to certify our caregivers in specific care areas such as dementia care, diabetes care and Parkinson’s care to name a few.

We do not have a one size fits all cost for our services. We like to discuss all of the client’s needs during the initial consultation, which is free of charge, and put together a comprehensive plan that will best serve them. We are very up-front about the costs and payment options prior to beginning services.

As is industry standard, Guardian Home Care bills on a weekly basis with payment due upon receipt each week. We also require a one week deposit with all new service agreements. For your convenience, we offer automatic payment drafts from a checking or savings account.

Yes, Guardian Home Care will accept long-term care insurance reimbursement after benefit verification from most insurance companies.