Our top priority is to ensure that every Caregiver we work with is the best of the best. After all, home care is about trust; you are letting someone into your household to take care of your loved one—often in personal ways—and that is no easy feat. You want to feel safe and secure in your choice. The Caregiver should be someone who you would trust with your loved one as much as you would trust yourself.
Ensuring such dependability goes beyond the Caregivers’ skills, to who they are as human beings. That’s why every Caregiver who Family & Nursing Care employs or refers to must share our values of respect and love for aging adults, and they must be compassionate, reliable, and trustworthy.
You may be wondering how we can be certain that every Caregiver embodies these qualities and required skillsets. The answer: after nearly half a century of providing home care services, we’ve created a system through which only the very best Caregivers are selected.
Here’s how it works:
The phone screening.
During this intial conversation, we let the Caregivers know that we will verify that they have the appropriate documentation to meet our minimum requirements in accordance with applicable local and state law. This includes:
- Two years’ hands-on experience within the last three years*
- Certification: MD State CNA/GNA and/or DC HHA**
- Complete work history from the last five years
- Proof of eligibility to work in the United States
- Government-issued picture ID
- Social Security card
- Current TB Clearance
- Current Hepatitis B screening**
- CPR certification**
*One year for caregiver applicants in Central MD and PA
**For caregiver applicants in MD and DC
In addition, the phone screening helps us evaluate the communication skills of the Caregiver. Only 8% of applicants make it past this point to be invited to fill out an application.
The application.
The candidates who make it past the phone screening are then invited to fill out the application. We evaluate how the Caregiver portrays themself and their answers on the application to establish if the Caregiver displays our high standards for professionalism and compassion. If the applicant passes this stage, they move onto the computerized competency exam.
The computer competency exam.
We work with a third-party testing agency to ensure a fair evaluation of Caregivers through this test. We want every family who chooses Family & Nursing Care to know that they are receiving care from only the most knowledgeable and competent caregivers in the area.
The background check.
We perform a background check and employment and reference verification as established by state law.
The Face-to-Face Interview.
Those who pass the above requirements then move on to a face-to-face interview, which is conducted virtually over Zoom with one of our recruiters. We ask many questions during the comprehensive interview, yet perhaps the most important question is the one we ask ourselves: “Would I trust this person with my loved one?” It’s a powerful question that helps us keep clients’ best interests top of mind.
Getting Acquainted.
At the end of the process, it is the top 8% of applicants who are asked to move on to the next stage and attend a special meeting to better understand how we will work together, and about Family & Nursing Care’s commitment to serve, help, and enhance the quality of life and well-being of others.
Ongoing Support.
We have an entire Caregiver Services Department to serve as a resource for Caregivers. It is vitally important to us that those who provide care for our clients are well cared for by us.
