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"We recently left another company and called you regarding services for my father. I am so, soo thankful that we did. Dad is finally happy, and that makes me happy. Being so far away, it's comforting to know that he is cared for and in such capable hands! " - Mr. Q. W.
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 Questions?
Is there a difference in home care companies? You bet! We would like to offer you a few points that can help you in evaluating the homecare industry and how to determine the important factors that you will want to be aware of prior to making a homecare decision. Below is a sampling of some frequently asked questions. The most common question is: How is Visiting Angels different?
That is a fantastic question, and one that we encourage.
At Visiting Angels, we know that you deserve the absolute best care available. It is for that reason that we are pleased to present you with the following answers regarding how Visiting Angels is a truly unique experience.
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Local Ownership / National Presence |
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Local ownership is very important in that the accountability of day to day operations exists within the office that is servicing your loved one. While this is important, it is equally important to know that there is a national presence to the company that is part of the care team. Why? Good question...
Did you know that in SC there is literally no license for non-medical homecare? SHOCKING to say the least! So what does that mean to you?
That means that ANYONE can open a non-medical home care company and no one is there to provide regulatory compliance on how that industry operates within the state. For this reason, regulatory compliance must come from an internal source. That internal source for our company is Visiting Angels corporate structure. Nationally, Visiting Angels global policies and procedures are as strict as the strictest state. This means that you can rest assured that there is a known blue print of how to service clients needs successfully that has been tested nationwide for years with thousands of clients!
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Drug Screening |
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One of the more important issues that everyone seems to take for granted is drug screening. While most companies state that they have the option to drug screen, only Visiting Angels drug screens all caregivers prior to being hired and then consistently thereafter every 3-6 months to help ensure your safety. While this is not required, it sure is evidence that Visiting Angels goes above and beyond to trust but verify.
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Background Checks |
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"Background checks" are standard in the home care industry. What is not standard is going a step beyond. A simple "SLED" (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) background check only shows convictions in South Carolina. Since the Greenville metro area is so close to North Carolina and Georgia, it wouldn't take a great deal of effort for a criminal to move a few miles across the border into Greenville and magically appear to have no record at all. For this reason, we perform an extremely comprehensive background check consisting of a national background check, state level background check and more. Our background checking is so advanced that it finds where an individual has lived for the past 7 years and does a county criminal check at each county in that 7 year span! Amazingly detailed reporting helps us to verify not only that the individual has a clean criminal background, but also where that individual has lived. I would not settle for a simple SLED check if given the option.
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Select Your Caregiver |
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When you decide that Visiting Angels is a good fit for your families needs, how do you go about matching a caregiver with your loved one? We know that a good caregiver is one of the cornerstones to a successful care relationship. For that reason, we do the following:
- We would like to come to meet with you and explore services and understand exactly what we can do to help. This is called a complimentary assessment.
- Once we have an understanding of your situation and how we can help, we do everything in our power to make a perfect match with a caregiver of like mind, spirit, experience, personality, etc.
- You can then meet the caregiver and ask them any question you would like to better know that caregiver. After the meeting we would discuss your thoughts and see if the caregiver appears to be a suitable fit for you.
- Once we find the perfect caregiver for you, we can start care with your blessing and on your schedule.
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Caregiver Screening |
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When interviewing a caregiver, Visiting Angels believes that to do a thorough job we must approach that individual from several different angles. To be as thorough as possible we do the following:
- Interview 1 - The potential caregiver is interviewed by the Scheduling Coordinator
- Computer Test - The potential caregiver is screened with a computer based test and compared to what has been seen as an "ideal caregiver profile". Caregivers are checked for propensity for Good Impression, Hostility, Conscientiousness, Integrity, Substance Abuse, Sexual Harassment and Misuse. While we certainly do not rely on the computer models exclusively, this is another piece of the puzzle to help safeguard your security.
- Interview 2 - The potential caregiver is then interviewed by the Director of Visiting Angels
- Skills Assessment - After the caregivers tell us how much they know about being a caregiver, we test their skills by asking them to show us what they know in our training room.
- Drug Screen - Amazingly enough, most non-medical homecare companies do not drug screen their caregivers. Visiting Angels drug screens every caregiver prior to their being hired and then again every 3 to 6 months to help ensure your safety!
- Background Checks - Please see above for background checks.
- Reference Checks - All references are checked to help validate a caregivers experience from an independent source. We look for 3 positive verifiable references that can give us more than just dates of employment and rehire status.
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Employee Training |
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If you do not train your caregivers for excellence, then it's unfair to expect excellence. If you do not expect excellence, then how can you be deliver excellence. That fundamental philosophy is a core pillar at VIsiting Angels. For this reason, we have monthly training sessions for our caregivers to hone their skills, protect themselves and protect you! Hiring "experienced caregivers" is not the same as training experienced caregivers.
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Administrative Visits |
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While we trust that our caregivers are doing a fine job, we want to confirm that through unannounced "Administrative Visits". During the course of these visits we check for the health and well-being of our care recipients, the appropriateness of the level of care provided and how our caregiver is performing under those conditions. You are trusting us to provide high quality care and we want to meet and exceed those expectations.
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Bonding and Insurance |
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All caregivers are bonded and insured. That being said, what does that mean? Bonding covers what is know as employee dishonesty (theft). Insurance covers general liability above and beyond bonding. It's important to Visiting Angels that if an event happens that requires either of these safety nets, that you are covered.
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Employees vs. Independent Contractors |
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There is a tremendous difference between the relationship of an agency with either an employee or an independent contractor. Employees are subject to enforcement of company stated Policy and Procedures, dress codes, drug screening, background checking, scheduling, tax liabilities, workers compensation, etc. Independent contractors are not covered by Workers Compensation, tax liabilities and cannot be required to follow an agency set schedule (your schedule) while performing tasks a specific way. Federal law makes this distinction very clear. For this purpose, it is in your best interest and ours that ALL caregivers have a status of "employee" and not "independent contractor".
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Phone Alert System |
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How do you know that someone is at work when they are supposed to be at work? Visiting Angels has a phone clock in and out system. The caregivers are required to clock in and out from your home phone. We are aware of exactly when a caregiver arrives by that phone call. If the caregiver has not arrived within 10 minutes of a scheduled shift, all Visiting Angels administrative personnel are alerted by email, text message and paging so that proactive measures can be taken to ensure that a visit is not missed.
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As you can see, there really is a difference! Collectively, all of these measures allows Visiting Angels to provide superior levels of care. Your satisfaction, health and safety are our top priority.
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