Home Health Care

1) Drug Testing

The last thing you want is to have questions or doubts in your mind whether or not the company's caregiver is using before, during or after his or her shift.

A "hot" or positive drug test is signal number one that a caregiver is less than qualified for caregving. Every company should require a clean pre-employment Drug Test and require that continued employment be based on a clean Drug Test.

2) Multiple Criminal Background Checks

You can't afford to risk your loved one being the caregiver's next victim. In today's environment you must take every precaution available. Companies that only perform one Criminal Background Check may be missing critical information. Multiple Criminal Background Checks mean the company is gathering information from different reporting agencies, thereby improving their chances of catching a "hit" in an applicant's criminal past.

My staff has performed thousands of criminal background checks but I recall one particular applicant that passed the first criminal background check and passed the second. But upon running the third criminal background check, criminal violations were found. If I had only run 1 criminal background checks, like most companies, I would have completely missed this person's criminal history.

3) Poor Employment History

Work history is one of the surest ways a company has of predicting future work performance. Poor Employment History is a solid indicator of a less than desirable caregiver. If the caregiver your company wants to send doesn't have AT LEAST one year of continuous employment at any of his or her past jobs, you may want to consider changing companies. Not requiring a solid work history means your loved one may be on the ever turning wheel of different, poorly qualified, caregivers.

With fewer "good" applicants available in today's job market, it is all too easy for many companies to hire "warm bodies" to fill the jobs.

One last item - there should also be NO bad or negative references from any of the caregivers past employers or personal references. Make sure your company can provide you with your caregivers work history AND references.

4) Negative Attitude

It is every company's duty to ferret out any negative trait of an applicant. A negative attitude can impact the comfort and happiness of your loved one. While a negative attitude doesn't necessarily equate to poor care, it can indicate the overall "life view" a person has. Their negative attitude can then slowly seep its way into your loved one's home and have less than desirable consequences. Most "negative Nellies" will put on a happy face for the screening and interview process. Yet companies that are well versed in the pre-employment screening process can weed out these negative traits and will not employ negative applicants.

5) Just Looking For A Paycheck

You want and deserve the absolute best care for your loved one. The last thing you want your loved one to represent is a "paycheck" to his or her caregiver. Exceptional caregivers have a calling; A calling to care for others. It is something they feel from the heart. They embrace this calling with emotion and passion. Money driven caregivers are just that - driven by the need to get paid. The callous nature of money driven caregivers is usually seen in their past work history, their attitude, demeanor and their inability to build lasting relationships. Again, companies worth their salt can effectively weed out these types through their screening process. If you feel the caregiver your company is sending is just looking for a paycheck it may be time to change your company.