Hiring A Caregiver With MeetCaregivers Featured Image

If you are reading this article, you are likely considering hiring a caregiver for an aging loved one. We make finding, coordinating, and tracking senior care easy and safe. Keep reading to learn more about our process.

Updated December 2, 2022

Are You Considering Hiring A Caregiver?

Founder and CEO Florence Furaha recognized that for families interested in hiring a caregiver, the biggest challenge was finding someone as compatible as they were qualified. “The process can be stressful, time-consuming, especially for families who do not live in the same city as their aging parents.”

She understood that as a caregiver, her clients weren’t just allowing her into their homes, but also their lives. “It’s really important to match seniors with the right caregivers. But it’s not always about the exact skills and experience. It’s a lot about the personality match, and we are spending a lot of time building the technology around it – for the person needing care, but also the person finding and managing care.”

1 in 5 Americans is a family caregiver. Yet, this unique population faces many challenges when searching for home care. To change the homecare experience for everyone, we utilize several special proprietary tools designed to transform the in-home care experience:

  • Care Match Program: Our proprietary tech-enabled care matching algorithm improves matches between seniors and caregivers, reducing caregiver turnover by 80% and increasing satisfaction rates among caregivers, seniors, and families to as high as 90%.
    Care Portal: Our digital care tracking portal for digital care management allows caregivers, families, seniors, health providers, and carriers to connect and track care plans, tasks, ADLs, medications, and health data from a single source.

What To Expect When Hiring A Caregiver With MeetCaregivers

People considering hiring a caregiver often find us thanks to word-of-mouth referrals, a recommendation from a health care professional, or our website after an internet search. Whatever your method of contact is, you can expect a response immediately or within the hour.

When you call or email us directly, you will speak to a care manager. During this first conversation, they will identify what you or your loved one want and need most. We will ask about your preferred schedule, the care recipients’ abilities and challenges, and medical needs.

(We ask these questions before scheduling any services because it’s essential to match the client with an aide who can handle all the tasks and be an enjoyable companion.)

Hiring A Caregiver - Care manager taking notes while talking to client - MeetCaregivers
MeetCaregivers was founded by people who know first-hand how difficult hiring a caregiver can be.

Care Match Program

Our caregiver questionnaire and AI-powered algorithm make it possible to match seniors and caregivers according to needs, personalities, interests, and more. This method simplifies caregiving, reduces turnover, and improves health outcomes and quality of care.

Care Needs

We begin with a few basic questions about the care recipient, starting with where you and your loved one live. Your answers help us narrow our caregiver network to a specific geographic area.

Then, we ask which ADLs (activities of daily living) and IADLs (instrumental activities of daily living) the care recipient needs help with most. You can also mention specifics about your loved one’s current care and health.

For example, does your loved one need assistance dressing, bathing, feeding, or other daily tasks? What about running errands, shopping, transportation, housekeeping, or companionship?

This information gives us more context about the services you’re seeking and which home care professionals can best address these concerns.

Service Schedule & Duration Preferences

Next, we ask about you and the care recipient’s preferred schedule, start date, how long care is needed, and whether these services will be recurring or intermittent.

Language & Cultural Preferences

If the care recipient is bilingual, we will try to match them with a qualified professional who speaks the same language. By overcoming common roadblocks like language barriers and personality conflicts, companions can build stronger relationships with care recipients, improving overall care quality.

What Qualities Does Your Preferred Caregiver Have?

When hiring a caregiver, would your loved one prefer a caregiver who is extroverted, introverted, or a little of both? Since clients and caregivers spend considerable time together, it’s in everybody’s best interest that both people (and even the family) share commonalities.

The questions in this part of the questionnaire derive from the American Psychological Association’s Five-Factor Personality Model and let you give more nuanced answers.

Besides sharing preferred personality traits, you can also tell us if you have a gender preference for the caregiver and specify if live-in services are needed.

What Qualities DoesThe Care Recipient Have?

The following section asks more questions about your loved one’s personality and interests. We then compare your answers to those given by our caregivers when they fill out a similar questionnaire once they join our team.

How Do You Feel About The Care Recipient's Current Care?

This section offers some insight into your situation as a family caregiver. Caregiver burnout is a real problem, and these answers help us create a plan to support family caregivers.

Rate Preferences & Contact Information

Next, you fill in your preferred rate and contact details. Cost of care is important for many families, so we ask a little about your financial situation to determine your final rate. Once you submit the questionnaire, your information enters our matching system for evaluation.

When you submit the questionnaire, our matching algorithm calculates scores. Then, it compares your answers to each companion’s profile to determine the best fit. Then, our Scheduler and Recruitment teams find relevant candidates.

Afterward, they will present several candidates to the care manager, who confirms the final selection with you and the care recipient. Once we find a match, we schedule a meet-and-greet, which can double as an in-home assessment.

In-Home Assessment

Hiring A Caregiver - Caregiver holding elderly woman's hand - MeetCaregivers
Consider talking to your loved one about hiring a caregiver sooner rather than later, so you can plan ahead.

Often, families consider hiring a caregiver right after a change in health status, which raises many stresses and concerns. However, since people reach out to us when there is an urgent need for a caregiver, we work very quickly. Generally, we can schedule an assessment on the same day or work with you to find the best time.

When a care manager contacts you following the Find A Caregiver Questionnaire, they will arrange a meeting between themselves, you, your loved one, and a professional caregiver at home. This collaborative conversation lasts 30-60 minutes. It is an opportunity to see if the caregiver our system selected is genuinely a good fit for your family and loved one.

During this time, we will answer questions, identify concerns, assess your loved one’s needs in real time, and outline a care plan that suits your family’s needs.

Suppose you decide that hiring a caregiver through us is the right choice. In that case, we can determine logistics, such as the location of items needed for care in the home and other questions. Once an assessment is complete, the care manager will send you and your loved one an agreement. When both of you sign and return this form, services will proceed.

On the first day of service, your care manager will check in with you and your loved one to see how everything went. Then, as your connection to MeetCaregivers, the care manager will keep in contact with you and the care recipient over the length of the service.

MeetCaregivers Makes Hiring A Caregiver Easier

MeetCaregivers helps seniors age in place with dignity while giving families peace of mind. We aim to create a holistic in-home care solution as unique as the seniors and families we serve.

We want to make hiring a caregiver more accessible so millions of people can age in the comfort of home.

From skilled medical care for chronic conditions to non-medical support for activities of daily living, our companions and clinicians have the skills and credentials to meet your family’s needs. Our caregivers and companions assist with daily activities such as:

  • Light housekeeping
  • Transportation
  • Social support
  • Virtual/technical assistance
  • Appointment and medication reminders
  • Home safety assessments
  • And more.

For more information, call 1 (888) 541-1136 to chat directly with a care manager.

Are you looking for more information about hiring a caregiver? Our Blog has plenty of information to read and learn about the topic.

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