Here at AV Home With Love and Care, we understand how hard of a decision it is to bring someone into your home to provide care and companionship for yourself or a loved one. Everyone has heard all the horror stories all over the news about home-care agencies and the people who exploit their clients. Stories of abuse, both physical and emotional, theft of money, personal items and in some cases, theft of medication is rampant on the news and can make anyone skeptical.  We hope we can make this decision easier on you by providing a guideline to follow before you allow someone into your home.

1. Inquire about the business.  Ask how long that agency has been in business and how long they have been in your city at their current address.  This can help weed out those agencies that “skip” around using new business names, due to bad reputation under their old name.  The longer they have been in business as THAT business in that address the better. We at AV Home With Love and Care, Inc have been in business under this name, at this address for over 12 yrs.
   
   
2. References.  Insist on getting references from current or past clients.  Any reputable agency will have former or current clients who have written letters of reference.  We can offer you many letters of reference and letters of recommendation from current and past clients.
   
   
3. Background checks.  Ask about the background checks done on all employees!  You will hear “We have access to the FBI data base”, but in actuality, everyone has access to that.  For a fee of around $80, anyone can get access and run a background check.  You MUST ask if they use it!  Most agencies don’t want to spend the $80 so they do a general local background check on the name/ID that was given to them.  The problem with that is, any worker who is going to steal or abuse, won’t give their real name and use a fake ID.  This doesn’t do you, the client, any good to have a simple background check done on a fake name.  Insist on fingerprinting!  We at AV Home With Love and Care, Inc do a complete fingerprint background check with the Department of Justice on each employee.  We compare that information with the information the employee gives on their job application, then we compare that with the background check we do with Social Security and DMV.  If on their application they state they lived/worked in Florida, we check with Social Security and the DMV to cross check their information.  We also cross check their DMV information with the physical characteristics we see in person (height, weight, eye color etc).  We do everything we possibly can to assure you that the person we sent into your home is the person they say they are.  No matter which agency you choose, the background check is the most important piece of information you can have!
   
4. Drug Testing.  Always ask if employees are drug tested.  For obvious reasons this is a MUST!  Some of our clients are taking extremely powerful narcotics, which means the caregiver has access to those drugs.  This is a very important question to ask. We do drug testing on each new employee, and randomly throughout their employment with us.
   
5. License, Bonds, Insurance.  Ask if they are licensed, bonded and insured.  This is another very important question.  Some agencies are licensed and insured, but not bonded or their company is bonded, but not the workers while in your home.  Ask extensively about their insurance and bonds. Ask how long they have held their current bond.  If they don’t know immediately, that is a red flag.  It could mean they jump from company to company because once a few complaints or claims have been made against a company or their employees, some insurance companies will drop their coverage, or deny them a bond.  AV Home With Love and Care, Inc, has been licensed and bonded with the same company for 12 years, with not one complaint or claim filed against us!  Our reputation is spotless!
   
   
6. State Licenses.  Ask about the state license the employees carry.  Some agencies will send out, and charge you for a “C.N.A” (certified nursing assistant) that actually isn’t licensed to be a nursing assistant.  It is your right to ask to see a copy of their license.  We offer LVN’s (Licensed Vocational Nurse) C.N.A’s, CHHA’s (Certified Home Health Attendants) which both require a state license and we offer nursing assistants, companions and homemakers, which don’t require a state license.
   
   
7. Extra Charges.  Beware of “add-ons”.  A lot of agencies quote a price, and its an unusually low one compared to other agencies you might have called, and who doesn’t want to save a dollar or two an hour right?  (See our one dollar an hour story on our testimonial page).  The problem comes usually with your first bill.  Somewhere in the small print they don’t point out to you, are the “extra” charges. Some examples are; if the client is incontinent, the agency will have a “per diaper” charge, some charge extra for laundry, only they don’t tell you till after they do the laundry.  Some charge extra for cooking, linen changes, well you get the idea.  ALWAYS ask what is included in the base price, and how much are the extras.  We have no extras.  EVERYTHING is included (except mileage, and that is only if you use the caregivers vehicle)!  Laundry, light housekeeping, linen changes, personal care, personal hygiene, dental hygiene, incontinence hygiene, errands, doctor visits, meal preparations, this is ALL included in the one price.  Nothing is extra, except as stated above, mileage.  Taking our clients to the movies, to the park, to visit friends or family, all of this is included in the price we quote you.  You will never be surprised when you get your bill!  The only time your price can or will change is if the case itself changes.  For example, if we quote you a rates to take care of a client who isn’t necessarily “ill”, but just should not be left alone, then after a few months, that client’s health condition changes (becomes incontinent, need more care than in the original care plan etc) we will re-evaluate the case, and once we speak to the family, we will renegotiate the rates, but we will NEVER raise the rates without talking to the family, and only after reassessing the case.
   
   
8. Phone Policy.  Please ask each agency you call about their phone policy after office hours and on weekend and holidays.  Some agencies will charge you if you call after hours even in an emergency, some agencies don’t have a number to reach anyone after hours and you can’t contact anyone till they open their offices.  We always have someone on call, 24 hours a day.  We have an answering service once we close the office, and in an emergency, they will put you through to the caseworker that is on call.  We do not charge for this!  We do however have a surcharge if a client wishes to conduct non-emergency business, after business hours.  And this is only in extreme cases were the client abuses our after hours phone policy.
   
   
9. BEWARE OF UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS! Please make sure the agency you choose does NOT hire undocumented (Illegal) workers!  There is NO way to trace their whereabouts if they do something illegal or harmful to you or to a loved one.  We always ask for Naturalization Papers, work permits, and/or I-9’s.  We do not accept photocopies we only take originals. This can prevent someone from fraudulently using a fake ID or fake papers.  Keeping you safe is our #1 priority!
   
   PHOTOGRAPH your caregivers! We always recommend taking a picture of your caregiver. The best way to do this is to casually  take a snapshot of the caregiver with your loved one and simply say Oh I would love to have a picture of you two together!
   
   This is for two reasons; first, if they absolutely don t want to be photographed, we take that as a red flag as most legitimate caregivers LOVE to have pictures of themselves with their clients, second, if you are not with AV Home With Love and Care, and something does go wrong, such as, they aren t who they say they are, you have a picture to show the authorities. At A.V. Home with Love and Care, we keep a photograph of each employee in their employee records. (We still recommend ALWAYS taking a picture of your caregiver no matter what agency you choose)
   
   
10. THE CHOICE IS YOURS!  Please be advised of unscrupulous caseworkers and discharge nurses/planners and others who are not looking out for your best interest.  Whenever you or a loved one is discharged from a hospital or medical facility, there is a caseworker or discharge planner assigned to your case.  Most of the time these will be the people who will ease your loved ones back into their home environment once they are discharged from the hospital and most of the time they are amazing people who do amazing jobs!  Their main goal is to get you set up with companies that are going to meet your needs once you leave the hospital.  These include; Medical supply companies, home health agencies, in home care agencies and in extreme cases, hospice agencies or even nursing homes.  Each of these caseworkers is supposed to give you a choice of 3 local agencies, leaving the decision to the family of the patient.  Sadly, this is not always the case.  There are too many caseworkers and discharge nurses/planners who have been paid (bribed) by unscrupulous agencies to only give family members information on their agency, leaving the families to believe they do not have a choice.  Sadly we have even heard of some discharge nurses telling patients families “they only will release the patient into the care of certain agencies”.  Also, rarely, we have heard of these caseworkers telling family members they need to place their loved ones in a nursing home or a period of time to recover, when the truth is, they can be taken care of at home, with better results!  Please understand this is illegal, immoral, and unethical!  No hospital or medical facility works solely with one company, unless there is only one company to work with.  Ask your caseworker for the names or pamphlets of at least 3 local agencies, or look in your phonebook or on the Internet, get their information, take this guideline and do your homework!  These are the people who are going to be taking care of you or your loved one!  Do your research!
    Remember, this is your life or the life of a loved one and it should NOT be sold to the highest bidder!   The choice and responsibility is always yours don’t leave it to someone else to decide.