Home Health Aid no-shows

[soakland]

Me and my PALS live in FL. I hired a home health agency to send someone for 2 hrs on days I work (once or twice a week at the most). I have found on most occasions they either don't show up or are late. This is ridiculous. Is this common with home health aides? Most of them have unreliable cars from what I can tell. Any ideas? It seems that even if I hire someone I can't get help when I need it. Argh!

 

[Atsugi]

No reason for that. You live in a very well-populated area with a great road system, so there should be plenty of semi-skilled, semi-English-speaking people down there.

Put your foot down on the CEO and threaten to report them to your health insurance carrier.

PS: Aren't you a CALS? Your profile says "Interested in learning about ALS." Recommend fixing that.

 

[lgelb]

My advice would be find a new agency. I would imagine there's more than one in your neck of the woods. Or advertise/post yourself for a semi-retiree who doesn't mind being "on call" for a couple of days a week.

Best,
Laurie

 

[Angiegal]

Speak (loudly) with the Agency manager. Ask (repeatedly) for escalation of the call. You shouldn't have to deal with that level of indifference.
Just keep in mind what I saw the other day "the squeaky wheel gets the grease".
Sorry you're going through this, along with all the other ALS stuff.

Angie

 

[lgelb]

The reality is that agencies pay different rates, have different management/reputations/policies and attract different people. So rather than try to make a sow into silk, I'd move on. Things can be very passive-aggressive in that world and I would not want an agency that I'd told off supplying workers who were there when I wasn't.

 

[Dave K]

Clearly grounds for termination. This could be a case of management with poor scheduling skills, i.e., they are sending the aide to another job they can't be expected to finish in time to get to your place on time. I wouldn't give them more than one more chance before getting another agency on board. Also, it helps everyone in the community when poor quality care like this gets reported to the state agency that regulates the local home health agencies. Home health professionals try to get away with a lot of poor quality care, so when they know they are being watched, they tend to perform better for all of their patients. You could just cut and paste the post you wrote here and send it to AHCA: Contact AHCA or call (888) 419-3456.

 

[lgelb]

It is not unusual. I know a family working with a reputable local agency (not for ALS) where lateness, no-shows and "I have to leave early with a headache" have pretty much been the norm.

Now that I see you are only looking for 2h shifts, this is one of the reasons I recommend college students on a pre-professional track. They value the experience and the recommendation. It's not subsistence doing something they don't really like, which sadly describes much of home health.

 

[Barbie]

absolutely no reason for repeated issues, especially if an agency is involved. that is BS and you need a new agency if they let this happen repeatedly. I always hired privately from caredotcom and never had a no show. I loved my caregivers very much and they pretty reliable.

I agree, you also may want to extend the shift to 4 hours so it is more worth their while (sadly) to show up. many agencies have a4 hour minimum.

get on the phone and chew out the agency (but also start looking for a new one right away)!

 

[KimT]

I found a lovely woman around 50 who comes in on 4 hours every Tuesday. She cooks, does laundry, light cleaning and runs errands....all for $12 an hour. She is very dependable and is willing to increase her hours and learn any machines I have. Her only medical training was on-the-job caregiver to her dad and that is good enough for me. She researched ALS before she came the first time.

Ask around. Using an agency isn't necessary. Cutting out the middleman will reduce the cost and you will have more control over who you hire. Personal references to a long way.

 

[Barbie]

agree with KimT wholeheartedly

 

[JimInVA]

We were fortunate to find a gal who worked with a local Home Health Company owned by a cousin of hers. Unfortunately, the working relationship between the two cousins wasn't working and Gina elected to leave. When we heard that she would no longer be working with her cousin's company, we asked if she'd consider continuing to work with us. She said that she'd love to. Gina comes in from 11:30AM to 3:30PM (4 Hours) on Monday and Thursday of each week. We pay her $60/Day ($15/Hour) and she's absolutely wonderful. She is willing and able to use the Hoyer lift... so toileting can be done. She's become familiar with the CoughAssist machine and knows when and how to use it. She'll make lunch, brush teeth, give medicines, shave legs, massage hands, do dishes, do laundry... heck, she even starches and irons my shirts when she can't find anything else to do. Gina thinks the world of my PALS Darcey... and it shows every time she comes. She was even part of a team that took care of Darcey for several days last April (2016) when I went to New York to see David Gilmour perform. My son, who lives in Brooklyn, put me up and we had an absolute blast! And even nicer is the fact that she'll be as flexible as we need her to be and with proper notice has been able to fulfill unexpected needs for additional days or hours. Moving our business home and having Gina in for two days a week have been the two greatest stress relievers for me. And when I'm less stressed, Darcey is much, much happier! I hope everyone is able to find their own "Gina"!!

My best...

Jim

 

[affected]

soakland have you solved this yet? Lots of great tips here on how others have avoided a lot of issues