Why Not Private Home Care?

Jody Guerrieri

We are often told that hospitals and doctor offices don't seem interested in referring to private home care services. Why is that? Why do they seem uninterested in referring private duty care to clients that are looking for and could benefit from services such as ours?
 
This is a good question. First, I think we need to understand the referral source's mindset. I recently read an article by Lori Moshier, a public relations and customer service consultant, who facilitated a focus group of discharge planners asking the question, "How involved do you get in making private duty referrals?" The answers were enlightening. Here is what Lori Moshier wrote on her study:
 
"The answers I received ranged from 'Hardly at all' to 'As little as possible' to
 
'I just give patients a list of providers or tell them to use the Yellow Pages.'
 
Honest answers, but what a shock. Note, understanding the root of the problem is the first step to overcoming it.
 
 When questioned further about why, I received the following responses: 'Private duty referrals are just too time consuming to get involved in and most of the patients and families I see can't afford this service;' 'I am not comfortable recommending a service that they pay for out of pocket…patients should find those services on their own;' 'These services are really not a part of the full continuum of care related to their hospital stay.'"
 
How do we as a home care company break through these walls?
 
First, we need to value their time, all the while realizing that we would be doing the elderly a disservice if we didn't make these services easily available to them through referral sources. When the referral source sees the importance of what we do and what we provide as valuable, affordable, and much needed as well as a wanted service for the senior client, we believe things will change.
 
At Preferred Care at Home, we don't barge in on referral sources; rather we send an introductory letter explaining who we are and how their clients can benefit from the service we offer. When the pleasure is granted to talk with these referral sources, we assure them that it will only take a few minutes of their time.
 
During this one-on-one meeting, we quickly establish our credibility by letting them know we are part of a company whose founders have been providing home care services for over 25 years. This is important since there are many home care companies that start up overnight.
 
Next, we show our unique differences. Preferred Care at Home understands that long-term care can be costly and we have built our reputation on offering quality services at affordable prices. Our cost effective Live-in service can start as low as $7.50 per hour, providing 24-hour peace of mind. Our home care services in some cases may be at no cost to the senior.
 
Clarifying our role of coming along side Medicare is also vital. If Medicare is part of the full continuum of care related to a senior's hospital or home stay and private duty is not then what Medicare does and doesn't cover is important to understand. The following will help clear this up:
 
  1. Your doctor must decide that you need medical care at home, and make a plan for the care.
  2. 2. You must need one or more of the following:
    • Intermittent skilled nursing care
    • Physical therapy
    • Speech-language pathology services
    • Continued occupational therapy
  3. You must be homebound or normally unable to leave home unassisted.
    It doesn't pay, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, for the following:
    • 24-hours-a-day care at home.
    • Meals delivered to your home.
    • Homemaker services like shopping, cleaning, and laundry when this is the only care you need, and when these services aren't related to your plan of care. 
    • Personal care given by home health aides like bathing, dressing, and using the bathroom when this is the only care needed.
 
In summary, private home care services are essential to provide the needed services our seniors so desperately deserve in order to maintain that level of independence and dignity. 
 
Asking for help is not easy. Losing independence may be one's greatest fear. We understand and want to be there, by their side, every step of the way. 
 
Preferred Care at Home is a senior home care company offering quality care affordably delivered to those in need.
 
 
Jody Guerrieri, RN, is the Vice President and Co-Founder of Preferred Care at Home. With over 28 years of nursing experience, 24 of those years in home care, Jody understands what the industry is all about, from senior care issues to developing and retaining quality caregivers. Her wealth of knowledge, along with her ever-increasing desire to research and develop only the best practices has positioned Preferred Care at Home as one of the elite home care franchises in the nation.
 
Jody Guerrieri, RN
 Vice President and Co-Founder of Preferred Care at Home
Orlando, 407-601-3960, West Orlando, 407-373-7224 and West Volusia 386-473-2662
 www.PreferHome.com