Home Care FAQ
Our goal is to help you maintain the highest quality of life. We accomplish this by developing a long-term relationship between you, your family, and your caregiver.
Connected Home Care LLC is privately owned and operated. We do not have franchise or corporate fees so we are able to be more competitive with our salaries to our employees, to fund our continuing education programs and to keep our rates to the client competitive. Educated and well paid caregivers equal employee satisfaction, which in turn translates to better client care. We focus on hiring caregivers who are local to your area so they are able to provide consistent care. We strive to keep the schedules consistent so the client knows who to expect and what day and time. It is important to have the same caregivers servicing the elder so they get to know the elder, the plan of care, the precautions and the services expected to be provided.
We work with you to find a good fit and offer unlimited personnel replacements to guarantee that you’ll find the caregiver that’s right for you. For our company, finding the right caregiver is a goal from the start of care as we meet with you personally to discuss your needs and expectations.
Yes, our company is licensed, bonded and insured. Our workers are covered under the company’s workers’ compensation and liability policies.
Please see our web page on your financial options.
Both the caregivers and the client case are directly supervised by our Director of Nursing. Our Executive Director of Home Care, Joanne Mercaldi, is also an Occupational Therapist, and has an extensive knowledge of the clients, their schedules and their plans of care.
Our scheduler’s priority is to find a caregiver who is familiar with the client and has seen them for care. We are conscientious about having the caregivers properly introduced to the client and reviewing the plan of care carefully and accurately if a replacement is needed.
We are available to you 24 hours a day. The office staff is available Monday through Friday 9am-5pm and the owner personally takes after hours and weekend calls.
While directly meeting with the client and/or family, the care plan is written up and reviewed on site with each caregiver. The care plan is designed to meet the needs, personality and lifestyle of the client.
Our caregivers may provide medication reminders. The client or the family can pre-fill a medi-planner; we can assist you to set up bubble packs through a local pharmacy or our RN may take over the duty of the pre-fill. We also provide a PMD service (personal medication dispensing). This is a medication machine that is filled by our nurse or family member and the machine will prompt the client on when the medications are due to be taken, and it will dispense them accordingly. If the elder in unsuccessful with taking their medications, a call will be placed to our office by the dispensing system. We will then place the appropriate calls needed to ensure the medications are taken and/or the elder is safe.
Some insurance companies cover our services and we are happy to provide the documentation required to establish eligibility. However, we bill directly to the family and the family collects the reimbursement from their insurance company. Please go to our page on your financial options for further details.
We offer care by our Nurses, Certified Home Health Aides, Homemakers and Companions with a service minimum of 4 hours. Services can be hired daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or as needed. Our overnight shifts are 12-hour shifts typically from 8pm to 8am, however, there is flexibility in time and length according to the client’s needs. Care is also available for up to 24 hours a day. This ensures the elder is supervised and assisted at all times to optimize safety and reduce fall risk. Caregivers will work as a team to ensure all the elders and household needs are cared for.
We support more than 50 towns throughout MA and our caregivers live nearby so help is always right around the corner. Please visit our locations page for further information.
We are proud to be locally owned and privately operated. With hundreds of clients served and over 100 employees, we have the experience and breadth to care for you or your loved one.
Yes, we are there for your loved ones wherever they reside.
It is our goal to be as flexible as you need us to be. There is no long-term commitment. We can provide care from 4 hours to 24/7 for any amount of days in the week.
Yes, caregivers may transport clients to appointments, shopping or personal errands. There will be an additional charge for mileage.
The same caregiver or team of caregivers are scheduled consistently. If we have a caregiver who is not able to perform their scheduled shift, we work hard to find coverage with caregivers whom the elder already knows. Our Nurses are available to personally introduce any new caregivers to review the individualized needs, concerns and plan of care. We believe that providing continuity of care and building relationships between the caregiver and the client increases overall quality of care provided.
Connected Home Care, LLC caregivers are actual employees of the company. As a responsible employer we withhold all Medicare Social Security, State and Federal taxes, provide Workers’ Compensation Insurance and General Liability Insurance (bonding coverage) This protects our clients and their families from the burdensome paperwork and tax liabilities they face when hiring someone independently or through a third party employment or “referral” agency.
We perform checks on criminal backgrounds, driving records, Nurse Registry, Office of the Inspector General Exclusions List, and Social Security verification. Additionally, we contact previous employers as part of our screening for all employees.
We carry a bond for $5000 against theft.
Yes. In fact, we give special training to our caregivers based on a curriculum published by the Commonwealth in conjuction with the Massachusetts Alzheimer's Association. Please see further details on our Alzheimer's page.
CHC offers the 24x7 Connected Home Care portal and all its features at no additional charge to our client families because we believe that ongoing, real-time communication is essential to providing personalized care for your loved one. We commit to going above and beyond your expectations.
No. You can handle all your business with us via phone, and you are more than welcome to call us at any time. The Connected Home Care portal is offered as an added convenience for your family. Use it as much or as little as you like.
We use a combination of mobile and web technologies for our services. Many Connected Home Care employees carry smart phones and use them for this. If there is a computer in the client's house, the family sometimes approves our use to log the reports that way. Otherwise, they post the report from a computer after the shift is over.
Yes. We offer multiple family logins to help keep everyone informed.
Yes, but only if you give permission. Our authorized staff has access to your records, but you are in complete control of anyone else who sees your information.
From the Connected Home Care portal, click the tab for "Schedule." You will see a list of visit dates. If the date you want to review is not displayed, change the Start Date and End Date at the top of the list and show the dates you want. To the right of the visit you will see icons. Click the icon for "View Daily Report."
From the Connected Home Care portal, click the tab for "Schedule." You will see a list of visit dates. If the date you want to review is not displayed, change the Start Date and End Date at the top of the list and show the dates you want. To the right of the visit you will see icons. Click the icon for "Leave a message."
Yes. Our data is encrypted, and access to our system is available only to authorized employees and to your family. Financial transactions are secured using 128-bit encryption, which is standard for web e-business transactions.
Absolutely not. We do not use advertising on our site, nor do we provide your data to any third parties.
Our goal is to make your life easier. Call us with the dates and times you need care. We will make all the arrangements to begin service as soon you need. To help you and your family with this process, Connected Home Care, LLC offers a no obligation, in-home safety evaluation and consultation.
Contact Us by phone or email today. We will be happy to answer your questions, discuss payment/coverage options for care, get to know you, and, if you’re interested, we will schedule your no obligation evaluation. Once your personal care plan is established, we select a caregiver to help meet your needs. Our goal is to help you maintain the highest quality of life. We accomplish this by developing a long-term relationship between you, your family, and our caregiver.
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