Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Personal Injury Law Blogs -> Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal Injury Law

: Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer

The Hiring Of Home Health Aides

By Eddie Farah

Frequently we at Farah and Farah are asked whether hiring a home health aide to watch over an elderly loved one, in our home or theirs, is a good idea and what should someone look for.

You should treat the hiring of a home health care person with the same scrutiny as you would for your child.

If this person will be responsible for medically-related duties, he or she should be a licensed, certified nursing assistant, or CNA, who will be regulated by a state agency. You can also call them at 850-245-4567.

However, if this person is hired to provide housekeeping, cooking and non-medical services, you may need to conduct your own background check.

In Florida, California, Connecticut, and at least 19 other states, nonmedical home health care aides are not required to be licensed, certified nor regulated by a state agency. Criminal background checks are not required.

There have been plenty of stories of abuse and neglect of elderly patients including identity theft, the theft of personal belongings, narcotics or cash. Be aware that most abuse and neglect cases involve non-medical aides hired to help around the house and that most victims are afraid to report the abuse.

If you are looking for a reputable, reliable home health care person, it’s probably a safer bet to go through an agency; however, be sure to ask the agency what background checks have been done and be sure they include, at a minimum, a state police criminal background check.

Make sure that the agency has run a national criminal database check to the extent it is possible. Some agencies do not have that authorization.

A Medicare or Medicaid home health agency requires training of at least 75 hours and an evaluation program. A licensed-only agency may require additional training above at least 40 hours or a competency test given by the agency.

If you are doing the hiring, be sure to check references and conduct your own state police criminal background check.

People already feeling guilty, are looking for peace of mind when they hire a care giver. As more and more of us enter the ranks of older age, this problem looks to escalate. Hopefully the solutions will too. Do research on the elderly and home health aides and don’t be shy about asking for help from others. A specific request usually works best.

For more information on how to find caregivers and other senior citizen resources, visit www.eldercare.gov or call 800-677-1116.

You can also check the name of your caregiver against a sex-offender registry available at www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/registry.htm.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Full post as published by Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer on November 15, 2008 (boomark / email).