What if the caregiver doesn’t show up? What if the caregiver doesn’t work out? What if something happens to the caregiver in my home? What if something happens to my loved one while the caregiver is providing care in my home? What if the caregiver steals? What if, what if, what if…?
Let me answer some of those “what if” questions. First the question of whether to hire privately or use an agency is a multi-faceted question. There is almost always a cost difference. Hiring privately should allow the family to save money. However, the rest of the what if questions then come into play.
What if the caregiver doesn’t show up? If you use an agency to provide care, the agency should have someone that can sub for your regular caregiver. If you hire privately and the caregiver doesn’t show up, you probably don’t have anyone else that can work in the regular caregiver’s place.
What if the caregiver doesn’t work out? If you use an agency, the agency should be able to send you someone else that will, hopefully, be a better fit. If you hire privately and the caregiver doesn’t work out you’ve got to find someone else yourself starting from scratch all over again.
What if something happens to the caregiver in my home? This one gets a little tricky. If you use an agency, be sure to verify that the caregivers are covered by the company’s work comp insurance. You might use an agency that doesn’t have work comp insurance so be sure to verify. If you hire privately and something happens to the caregiver, then you could be liable for the treatment of any injury. If you hire privately, be sure workers in your home that are injured are covered by your insurance otherwise the potential liability could be significant.
What if something happens to either my loved or our home and the caregiver is at fault? If you use an agency and verify that they have liability insurance, then any damage should be covered. If you hire privately then damage to your property or your loved one is not going to be covered by the caregiver. If the caregiver steals from you and you use an agency that bonds its employees, any loss should be covered. More importantly, the agency should have run a background check on all employees. If you hire privately and you are then victimized by that caregiver, you are probably on your own.
These are important things to consider when deciding on care in your home.
