Home Care Agency Vs. Private Sitter

When considering senior care services, it’s important to know the difference between a private sitter and agency care like ComForCare Senior Services. In many cases, agency care provides clients with greater stability and more reassurance. While there are pros and cons to each type of home care, potential clients should be sure they’ve done their research and asked all of the important questions before making a final decision.

Quality of Care

Agencies have a number of policies and procedures in place to offer top-notch quality of care. Each client is overseen by a registered nurse (RN) to ensure that he or she remains medically sound according to the doctor’s orders. Agencies provide caregivers with ongoing training to ensure that clients are receiving advanced, up-to-date care. Caregivers also receive specialized training for seniors with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, as these clients often have specialized care needs.

Bonding and Insurance

Due to less standards and requirements, a private sitter may not have safety precautions in place such as bonding and insurance of caregivers. Home care agencies operate under strict legal guidelines, ensuring that each caregiver is bonded and insured in the event that unfortunate incidents occur. In these unfortunate cases, caregivers are covered by liability and workers compensation insurances to reduce risks. Additionally, agencies can file long-term insurance policies for their clients and ensure that all employment taxes are paid.

Hours and Availability

Due to the fact that home care agencies are typically larger with an expanded team and a hierarchy of roles, agencies may be able to provide greater availability that private sitters. Agencies have a team of administrative staff and managers, as well as a team of caregivers. This means that in the event that an accident occurs or a caregiver is absent, an agency will be able to ensure that this does not jeopardize the well-being of the client.

Additionally, some private sitters may be difficult to reach outside of normal operational hours. At ComForCare, we are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are available for clients in the event that seniors or their loved ones have any emergencies or unexpected issues outside of regular business hours.

Hiring Process

One of the differences between an agency like ComForCare’s caregivers and care from a private sitter is our rigorous screening process. Many private sitters may not have undergone strict standards and guidelines for the individuals taking care of clients. In turn, this may equate to a poor quality of care or even issues with the caregiver-client relationship. At ComForCare, we have a thorough 10-step hiring process to ensure that only the most qualified, competent, and trustworthy individuals are caring for our clients.

Our 10-step hiring process includes the following criteria:

• National League of Nursing Test
• DEARS Assessment and Drug Testing (where available)
• Personal Interview
• Employment Verification and Personal Reference Checks
• Professional License Verification
• State and Federal Sex Offender Registry
• Criminal Background Check and State Driving Record Check
• Full Skills Orientation
• OSHA Universal Precautions and Proof of a Negative TB Test
• Social Security Verification

Whether your loved one needs assistance only a few hours a week or around-the-clock, our team is happy to help! Call (662) 244-7226 to learn more about the transition care services offered through ComForCare Home Care (Columbus, MS).