Thanks to advances in medical science people are living now longer than ever. While this is clearly a boon there are added challenges to coincide with these lengthened life-spans. Now it is even more common for the loved ones of elderly citizens to seek in-home health care. The main challenge here is finding the right agency to meet the needs of the family member. And if a loved one does require in-home health care it will likely be for one or several the following reasons:
If you have arrived at the point where you need to find and select a home healthcare agency there are a number of pieces of advice to take to heart. First, we feel that it is always a good idea to screen multiple healthcare agencies at the same time. This accomplishes several things. First of all, it will give you a good idea of what to expect from the different agencies you contact. It will also lessen the amount of time the whole selection process will take which is good because there’s a chance that you’re in a time sensitive situation.
Another helpful piece of advice is to try to take your time with the process. There may be temptation to just select the first agency you research but it is in your best interest if you resist and take your time with the process. It’s important to realize that selecting a healthcare agency to work with is a big choice. It’s a partnership which you will potentially be a part of for months or years to come.
And like any partnership its success will depend on how much work you put into it. Whenever you’re screening multiple healthcare agencies you should ask all of them for references. By examining these references carefully you will learn a number of valuable things about each agency. What type of care they provide, what level of service they offer and so on. This is all important information for you to settle on the right agency for your situation.
The screening process is really important and a big part of that process are the questions you end up asking. It isn’t always easy to know what you should ask which is why we assembled a few below to get you started:
Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association
27 Governor Street
Ridgefield, CT 06877
P: 203-438-5555
F: 203-431-6583, or
E: info@ridgefieldvna.org