Choosing a home care provider can be stressful. There is a lot at stake, whether the caregivers that visit will be for you, your parents or for other loved ones. You are about to invite strangers into your house!
You need to make sure you can trust the company that you hire, and understand how it operates. Below we outline the tradeoffs you make when deciding based on price.
To keep it simple, low cost home care providers can offer a lower price, but only by cutting corners. As with any service, “you get what you pay for.”
FirstLight Home Care, for only 5%-10% more, provides quality care and takes no shortcuts. We invest in the quality and retention of our caregivers and our overall operation. We allow you to feel safe and secure with the care you receive. FirstLight aims to be the Lexus of home care.
Below is a comparison of two different home care models: Quality (FirstLight) and Low Cost. Below that are some important questions to ask when shopping. Call or text us 24/7 at 916-742-5328 with questions or to get started! We are 100% locally owned and operated and welcome your business.
| FirstLight | Low Cost Providers | |
| Hiring caregivers | FirstLight – in office | 3rd party |
| Training caregivers | FirstLight – in office | 3rd party – video training |
| Scheduling | FirstLight | Remote 3rd party / call center |
| Fixing problems | FirstLight | Remote 3rd party / call center |
| Off-hours communication | FirstLight 24/7 live call with local staff | Remote 3rd party / call center Leave Voicemail |
| Caregiver pay | Above Market | Below Market |
| Caregiver turnover | Lower | Higher |
| Live meetings with operations team | Yes | Never |
| Operations team knows caregivers | Yes | Never |
| Introductions of caregivers | Yes | No |
| Check-in visits by operations team | Yes | No |
| Local billing contact | Yes | No |
SAFETY QUESTIONS:
- Is the company licensed, bonded & insured? We give you copies of our paperwork to prove it.
- Are Caregivers drug tested and checked for criminal background before being hired? Ours are.
- How long has the company been operating & what do their Google Reviews look like (see ours above)?
- Can you talk to the owner of the company?
QUALITY QUESTIONS:
- What happens if a caregiver calls in sick, or just doesn’t show up for her shift? Who do you talk to? A person with the same company that signed you up? Or with another company out of the area?
- How are the caregivers supervised? Are they introduced to you at their first visit?
When deciding which home care company to hire, ask yourself how much additional stress and workload you can tolerate. If you have lots of free time and excel at dealing with stress, working with a low cost provider may make sense. If not, consider FirstLight Home Care so you can have more peace of mind.