FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - IO Waiver

1) What kind of services does Call for Care, LLC provide?
We provide a broad range of Homemaker and Personal Care services in the Consumer’s home. Services we offer are specific to each individual’s needs. These services include, but are not limited to: Bathing, Dressing, Cooking, Light housekeeping (such as vacuuming, dusting, laundry, dishes, bathroom, etc), Respite for family members/caregivers, Accompany to doctor’s appointments, Shopping, Transportation (Must be able to transfer into a car. Unfortunately we do not have a wheelchair van at this time) Running errands, Companionship, etc. We also subcontract with a nurse in the event that minimal nursing services are needed.

2) To whom do you provide services?
We will provide services to anyone with a disability, illness, or injury that hinders them from being able to independently care for themselves. However, we will not provide services to Consumers who are verbally or physically abusive to staff or Consumers who knowingly and purposely do not comply with their doctor’s orders or otherwise act in an unsafe way. The staff of Call for Care, LLC takes our responsibility to ensure the health and safety of our Consumers seriously. We cannot live up to our responsibility in hostile or non-compliant environments.

3) Do you provide 24 hour services?
Call for Care, LLC will provide services any hour of the day, any day of the week, including weekends and holidays. For our IO Waiver Consumers, we provide 24 hour “on call” emergency services. For our Private Pay Consumers, we will provide 24 hour services; however, we are not “on call” for emergency situations.

4) How do I go about receiving services from your company? (for IO Waiver)
When looking for a home-care provider, your Service and Support Administrator (SSA) will guide you through the entire process. First, you and a representative from our company will interview one another to see if we would be a “good match”. If you decide that you want our company to provide your home care needs, and we decide that we would be able to provide you with our highest quality care, we would meet again to go over your Individual Service Plan (ISP) and discuss training and start dates. Some Consumers require much more staff training than others, so it is difficult to speculate how long it will take to train staff to your individual needs. It can take a couple of weeks from the time your ISP is completed to the actual service start date.

5) Do you do background checks on all of your employees?
Yes! Upon consideration for hire, all potential employees must submit fingerprints to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification in London, Ohio. (If the employee has not lived in Ohio for the past 5 years, an FBI check is done.) We get the results of the fingerprints within 2 to 5 business days (it is done electronically). The results will show us if the potential employee has been convicted of any crimes and if so, what kind of crime it was. We will not hire anyone convicted of a felony or with a past record of theft, abuse, or neglect of any kind. We also check references, past employers, driver’s license checks, online abuse and sexual offender registries, and employees must pass a drug/alcohol screening.

6) What kind of training do your caregivers receive?
Our caregivers receive training to perform a wide variety of personal care and homemaking services. They receive general personal care training (ex: How to give a bed bath, How to make an occupied bed, etc) and they will receive specific training to care for each individual. They are also trained on company’s policies and procedures. They receive training upon hire and continued training through mandatory staff in-services in Unusual Incidents and other pertinent topics. Our staff is also trained on fire and tornado safety, and CPR/First Aid. All employees will need to pass a competency exam prior to hire and must pass strict skills exam prior to working with any of our Consumers. Employees must also complete “Compassion and Empathy” training.

7) What are the conditions under which services may be terminated?
Prior to the service start date, your SSA will have you sign a form stating that you agree to give your provider 90 days notice in the event that you want to terminate services with them. We, as the provider, also agree to that same 90 day notice. However, according to the Ohio Department of MR/DD, you do NOT have to give 90 days notice of your intent to terminate services. Giving notice, on your part, is done as a courtesy to the provider, and is greatly appreciated. The provider must give you notice of intent to terminate services. That being said, services may be terminated for any reason. Should you or the provider become unhappy with working together, notice of intent to terminate services with each other should be made, in writing. Your SSA should be contacted and the SSA will assist you through the process of finding another provider. Call for Care reserves the right to terminate services for any reason. However, we will do everything possible to resolve any kind of disputes that may arise.

8) How will you ensure my satisfaction of your services?
Consumer satisfaction is our number one goal. We ensure Consumer satisfaction in a few different ways. First of all, we strongly encourage an “Open Door Policy” where Consumers, family members, and staff can speak openly and freely to any manager of Call for Care without fear of retaliation or reprisal. We feel that communication is the number one element to keeping our Consumers, their family, and our staff, happy. We want people to feel comfortable voicing their opinions and concerns. We will take all concerns and complaints seriously and will deal with them in a timely, professional manner. We also encourage compliments and will pass them along to our staff!
In addition to free communication, we perform “Consumer Satisfaction Surveys” once every 6 months. A manager of the Company will sit down with you and fill out the Consumer Satisfaction packet. During this survey, the Consumer, his/her primary staff, and SSA will be asked a series of questions (one on one, in private) pertaining to every aspect of your care. A copy of the completed survey and plans of correction will be forwarded to you and your SSA. We strongly encourage open and honest discussion when answering these questions.

9) What if I have a dispute, a grievance, or a problem with staff? What should I do?
Again, this is where open and honest communication is imperative. At the first sign of a problem, you are encouraged to contact a manager or the Administrator to discuss it. The manager and Administrator can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most of the time, problems can be solved just by talking about what is going on and coming up with a plan to correct it. If you find that you are unhappy with a particular staff member, we can replace that staff with another. Sometimes, it is helpful if the Consumer, the staff member, and Administrator have a meeting together to discuss the issue and come up with a solution.

In the unlikely event the matter is not resolved by the Management of Call for Care, you are encouraged to contact your SSA to discuss the matter. If the SSA does not resolve the issue, you may contact the County Board of MR/DD. If there is no resolution to the matter, you may contact the Ohio Department of MR/DD.

In the event that that you feel you have been abused, threatened or neglected by any member of Call for Care, you are strongly encouraged to call the Administrator immediately. Staff will be removed from the home and a thorough investigation into the allegations will be conducted.

10. How will you ensure my health and safety?
We will do everything possible to ensure your health and safety while working with you. However, we have limited control over your actions and your decisions. If you are your own guardian, you must make decisions that are in your best interest. We will assist and guide you with making safe and healthy decisions, but ultimately the choices you make are yours. If you are the guardian of a Consumer, the ultimate choices are yours. Again, we will do all we can to assist you in making a safe, healthy choice for your loved one. Our staff is thoroughly trained and screened. We will never put an employee in someone’s home until we are confident that they will act in a safe, professional manner.
In the event that an unusual incident occurs, our staff is trained on the proper procedure of reporting the incident.

We have a lengthy, detailed “incident reporting” policy that staff is trained on upon hire and at least annually thereafter. You are welcome to ask for copies of any Call for Care policy.

11. What is the procedure for reporting an unusual incident?
Any staff member who witnesses or hears of an incident that adversely affects the health and safety of one of our Consumers must immediately ensure that the Consumer is safe. If the Consumer is hurt or in danger, the employee must contact the appropriate emergency personnel by calling 911. Once emergency personnel arrive, staff must follow their instructions. Once the Consumer is safe, the employee is to immediately contact the Administrator to discuss what happened. The employee must also fill out an “Incident Report” and get it to the Administrator as soon as possible, but no later than 24 hours. The Administrator will contact the Consumer’s guardian or family members (if applicable) and the Consumer’s SSA. If the incident is a possible Major Unusual Incident, the Administrator will fax the completed form to the SSA department for review. If the incident happens after the SSA’s office hours, the Administrator will contact the “on call” person and inform them of the incident. If the incident is not considered a Major Unusual Incident, the form will be copied and mailed to the Lake County Department of MR/DD and filed with them. If it is an MUI, then proper investigations and plans of correction will be completed.

12. What is the procedure for hiring staff?
Anyone interested in gaining employment with Call for Care must first go through a series of testing, training, and screening. When a potential employee applies for a job with Call for Care, he/she must complete a “Common Sense Exam” along with their application. He/She must also agree, in writing, to allow us to check references and ask specific questions to previous employers. The Common Sense Exam must be completed to the Administrator’s satisfaction before consideration for hire. We feel that each employee must possess an ample amount of common sense in order to perform his/her duties successfully, especially since most of the employee’s work will be performed without physical supervision of a manager. We feel that without common sense, an employee may not be able to make quick, accurate decisions in the event of an emergency or difficult situation. Once the exam has been completed and references have been checked, the applicant will be interviewed by a manager. The applicant will need to be at least 18 years old, have a high school diploma (or equivalent), a current Ohio driver’s license (with no more than 4 points), and current insurance. The applicant will be required to submit fingerprints for a criminal background check (and an FBI check if he/she has not lived in Ohio for 5 years), and will be drug tested for illegal drugs. The applicant must also pass a physical. The Administrator or manager will check abuse registries, sexual offender registries, and perform a Bureau of Motor Vehicles check on the applicant. Once all preliminary screening is completed, the applicant can begin training. Training consists of: basic skills training for personal care and housekeeping tasks; training on Company’s policies and procedures; CPR/First Aid; Fire and Tornado Safety; Unusual Incidents; documentation; and up to 12 hours of Compassion and Empathy Training. The Compassion and Empathy Training is used to help our employees understand what it is like to live with a disability. If the employee understands what our Consumers must live with everyday, it can help them to be more patient and understanding. Once all the necessary screening and training have been completed, the employee will be trained on individual ISP’s (Individual Service Plans) and routines. He/She will work for at least 3 days under the direct physical supervision of a manager in a Consumer’s home. Once that training is completed, the employee will have to pass a written and physical skills exam. Once those exams have been passed, the employee can then work independently in a Consumer’s home.

13. How much do you pay your staff?
We start our Personal Care Assistants (PCA’s) at $9.50 per hour. Once they have worked with us for a 90 day “Probation Period”, a Performance Review will be completed by a manager. At that time, if the employee has been performing his/her duty up to our high standards, we will raise his/her pay to $10.00 per hour. Performance Reviews will be conducted annually thereafter. Raises in hourly pay depend on the performance of the employee. We know that our hourly pay is above the average hourly pay of other companies, so we expect our employees to do above average work, professionally and proudly. We expect 110% of our staff, always!

We also pay time and a half for holidays and any hours over 40 in one week. Employees will accrue vacation hours depending on the number of hours worked within the year.
We do not have health insurance or retirement benefits yet, but as our company grows we will explore those important employee benefits.

14. What if staff calls off or does not show up?
Our employees must follow our “Call-off” policy if they need to call off for their shift. They are required to call off at least 6 hours prior to the start of their shift, if possible. The manager on call is responsible for handling call offs. The employee will call the manager and the manager will then find a replacement. If an employee just doesn’t show up, please contact the manager on call or the Administrator and a replacement will be provided as quickly as possible.

15. Can I pick the staff that will be working with me?
Absolutely! We encourage your input when choosing the right staff to work with you. We want all of our Consumers and staff to get along and to be comfortable with one another. We will do everything we can to ensure a “good match”!

16. What about finances? How do you handle those?
We have a very strict policy regarding finances. You are welcome to request a copy of this, and any other, policy. If needed, a manager will assist you with paying bills and keeping track of your finances. Our PCAs are NOT authorized to do so. Personal Care Assistants are permitted to run errands for a Consumer with food stamps or cash and must document each transaction in a ledger. Receipts must be kept with the ledger. PCAs will not have access to ATM cards or credit cards. If you need assistance with using ATM cards, credit cards, or writing checks, arrangements will be made to have a manager assist you. We are more than happy to have a manager assist with paying monthly bills, balancing checkbooks, etc. Call for Care will not be a Consumer’s payee.

17. Will you help me with my Medicaid benefits?
Yes! We will be happy to assist you in anyway we can with keeping your Medicaid benefits. We will accompany you to your annual redetermination interviews or, if you choose, we will be your authorized representative and go for you so that you don’t even have to go! It’s up to you.

18. Do you provide transportation?
We provide transportation; however, we do not have a lift van at this time. You would need to be able to transfer into your PCA’s personal vehicle. Our employees are required to have adequate insurance coverage on their vehicles and will be paid $0.35 per mile when running errands for you or with you. We can also assist you with arranging public transportation and accompany you.


19. You are the Administrator and Owner. Will I have easy access to you?
Definitely! I am available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I am always just a phone call away! If you need to get a hold of me you may call any of my phone numbers and leave a message (if I do not answer immediately). If you leave a message, I will return your call as soon as possible, but always before the end of the day. If I am going out of town or if I will be unavailable, I will inform all of our staff and consumers and will give you an alternate number to call if there is an emergency. I also work as a PCA in the Consumers’ homes. This way I can make sure things are getting done correctly and stay in close contact with our Consumers.

20. Why should I choose Call for Care, LLC to provide my home care services?
You may be a bit apprehensive about choosing us because we are still a very new and very small company. However, what we lack in size, we make up for in quality of services. Many larger companies may lack the “personal touch” that our small company offers. Our company is absolutely dedicated to ensuring that our Consumers are happy, healthy, and safe. We promise to always be reliable, dependable, and to give 110%. We will always be readily available to our Consumers, their families, and our staff.

Recently, I was given the best compliment I have ever received from a Consumer. She told me that she had been with (and left) just about every provider company in Lake County. With those companies she felt her disability was a major handicap and really got in the way of her living her life the way she wanted to. Since we have been caring for her (5 ½ years total) she says that she no longer feels that she is hindered by a disability. She told me that it is just a minor inconvenience sometimes. That is how we want everyone we service to feel about the work we do! We strive to make our Consumers’ lives as full and easy as possible! Our Consumers become like part of our families, and they tell us they feel the same about us!
 

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