Benefits of Using a Caregivers Agency
A caregiver agency is a business that recruits, hires, screens, trains and manages employees to provide home health services. Typically, agencies are required to handle payroll taxes and provide professional liability insurance and worker’s compensation for their employees. This is a huge benefit for families because it protects them from being held responsible if a caregiver gets injured on the job or damages a family’s property while working.
Agencies also offer other intangible benefits such as expertise, peace of mind and stress reduction, which can be worth the additional cost of using an agency instead of hiring a caregiver directly. It can also save you time in the search since it can take days or weeks to find a caregiving specialist on your own.
Besides offering a variety of caregivers, home care agencies often have resources that can supplement your existing respite and home healthcare programs. Some of these supplemental services include legal and financial consultations, home modification services, chore services, grocery shopping assistance, respite programs, and home-based care coordination.
In addition, some agencies have a care exchange, which is a pool of caregivers who can work extra hours for clients if the agency doesn’t have enough hours for them. This is a great option for caregivers who want to stay with an agency but have trouble meeting their employment needs. Lebovic says that it can be “heartbreaking” for an agency when a caregiver wants more hours, but the agency can’t provide them. Caregivers agency