As with most things, there is a process involved in selecting and beginning service with the home health care service agency that will provide care for your loved one. While the process outlined below isn’t carved in stone, it should serve as a reasonable guideline for getting you through. It reflects the process Merry Home Healthcare prefers, but our service is customized to the particular needs and circumstances of the individual, and may vary.
1. Do a thorough due diligence on the agency. It’s prudent to do your homework on the available agencies in your area.
2. Meet with an agency representative to get an introduction to the agency and discuss client’s requirements. Review agreements and agency-provided materials to ensure you understand your financial and other obligations. Only then should you sign any documents.
3. The agency will arrange for a registered nurse to visit the client in her/his home; preferably, the primary caregiver (most often a family member) should be there as well. The nurse will get an understanding of the client’s needs, limitations and expectations. Merry Home Healthcare uses one of the most comprehensive nurse’s assessment processes in the industry, to ensure we are properly addressing the client’s needs.
4. The nurse will prepare a written plan of care, detailing the services and timing of various activities. The plan should be reviewed with the appropriate family member as well as the client.
5. Merry Home Healthcare will assign a caregiver, based on criteria provided by the client, family member and nurse. The caregiver will be provided with the plan of care and a copy will be kept in the client’s home for updating and notation during service.
6. Merry management or nurse supervisor will accompany the caregiver to the clients’ home on the first visit as an introduction and to answer any unforeseen questions that may arise.
7. About every 4-6 weeks, our nurse and/or a member of management will visit the home to check on the client and the caregiver, and to ensure that the plan of care is working as intended or to make any adjustments called for. The nurse manager will perform a more formal nursing reassessment every 60 days, as required by the state of Virginia regulations.
