Family members aren’t always prepared for a crisis. Chronic conditions can get worse suddenly. A fall not only impacts the emotional well-being but also the schedule of everyone. And hospital discharge requires care to avoid readmissions.

Family caregivers can experience burnout. Or they have other emergencies to attend to. This raises the question of quick access to in-home care.

This article explains more about the time needed to start in-home care services. You’ll understand the factors that affect the timeline, as well as the things on your end that can speed up the process.

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Can in-home care start quickly in an emergency?

In-home care can start quickly in an emergency. In some cases, it is available within 24 to 48 hours or less.

The start of in-home care depends on a few factors:

• Availability of caregivers
• Type of care needed
• Paperwork
• Funding source
• How clearly the family can communicate the situation

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If a home care agency has available caregivers that suit your specific needs, this is a good start.

The definition of an emergency is different for home care agencies. It is not only about life-threatening events, like in a hospital. An emergency means the client needs assistance and can’t be left alone. Common situations include:

• Limited mobility after hospital discharge
• A fall that means increased safety risk
• Progressing cognitive decline
• Sudan’s unavailability of family caregivers
• Progressing chronic conditions
• New diagnosis that requires medication management and supervision

These are some of the examples where families need support. More importantly, they need it within days.

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How quickly can in-home care begin?

In-home care agencies can provide services within 24-72 hours in most cases. This includes non-medical care such as bathing, dressing, cooking, and supervision. However, this depends on the caregiver’s availability, clearly defined services, and payment arrangements.

Many agencies specialize in rapid response calls. This means they can arrange help in 24 hours.

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How to speed up the process

How quickly you get home care depends on many factors. Clear communication is one of the things that you have full control of.

Many families feel overwhelmed after an emergency. So they forget about some details, which can postpone the process.

In addition, we share a list you can follow for reference.

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Describe the needs

The in-home care agencies need details about the client’s needs. They work together with you to create a care plan that suits their requirements. So sharing the correct information in the first place prevents last-minute changes. Hence, the client can be matched with the caregiver with the proper experience.

Here are some questions you can expect:

• Is assistance needed for mobility?
• Is the client continent?
• Is dementia involved?
• Are there aggressive behaviors?
• Is lifting required?

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Hospital discharge paperwork

If hospitalization is included, you need to have the discharge paperwork ready. Having the care instructions and discharge summaries available will speed up the process.

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Funding

Private pay arrangements move the fastest. With long-term care insurance, Medicaid waiver programs, and veterans benefits, the approval time can vary.

In fact, some agencies may proceed with service before the paperwork is completed.

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Flexibility

Families that request a specific personality match in a caregiver may wait longer. If there’s flexibility in caregiver requirements, the service can start faster.

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What slows emergency home care down

While families face difficulties, agencies also have constraints that prevent them from acting fast. Staffing availability, regulations, safety, and documentation are some of the things that can slow home care down.

In addition, we get into the reasons and share some real-life examples.

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Limited caregiver availability

Staffing is the biggest problem that causes the delays. Agencies may have limited staff in busy areas and during the flu season.

In reality, home care agencies do not have caregivers on standby. The available employees are scheduled for active clients. When the family contacts the agency during an emergency, they will have to rearrange schedules or hire more staff, which takes time.

For example, the son calls to get home care. His father was discharged after a hip surgery and needs assistance with mobility, toileting, and medication management.

The agency can assign caregivers during the weekdays, but has no availability for weekend overnights. This happens because the weekend is already arranged with other clients.

Hence, the agency needs some time to adjust and organize its work.

Some factors that make things harder:

• Rural locations
• Holiday weekends
• Flu season
• Extreme weather
• Complex cases require experienced caregivers
• 24/7 coverage requests, where multiple caregivers are needed

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Unsafe home environment

Unsafe home environments are another reason for delaying care. This poses risks for the client and caregiver. Serious hazards like hoarding, broken stairs, or no running water require modifications.

The agency will assess the conditions and determine the need for changes. This protects the client and staff.

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Complex cases

If a client has a complex health condition, this requires experienced caregivers. Severe dementia, aggression, and behavioral concerns must be matched to the skilled staff. Otherwise, safety is compromised.

For instance, a daughter calls an agency to request home care for her mother with Alzheimer’s. She began wandering at night and resisted bathing. The agency looks for caregivers with dementia training and experience in behavioral management. This can take some time, but it is needed to ensure safety.

For agencies, delivering quality service is a priority. So they won’t rush the caregiver matching. Otherwise, it ends up with caregiver dissatisfaction, family dissatisfaction, risks, and neglected needs.

For complex conditions, the right match is more important than a fast start.

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Insurance delays

Services can start faster with private pay. But with other programs such as veterans benefits, long-term care insurance, and Medicare home health, additional approvals might be needed. These postpone the whole process. In some cases, agencies can arrange temporary private pay until the documentation issues are resolved.

We understand that the administrative work feels frustrating for families. However, agencies must comply with the rules.

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Family disagreement

Family members might not agree on the next steps. For instance, one sibling wants long-term care, and the other believes it would be expensive. Or, the client refuses help from outside.

In such cases, legal clarification can delay the start.

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Requirements

Unrealistic expectations often slow the process. While done unintentionally, having specific criteria narrows down the choice of caregivers. Some prefer that the staff speak a certain language. Others want the same caregiver for every shift.

Having preferences is valid. But during emergencies, staying flexible ensures you get the services as soon as possible.

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24-hour care

Families might not understand how staffing works for nonstop care. Basically, two or three caregivers will do rotating shifts. The company needs to arrange backup staff in case of illness. In addition, they need to follow the legal requirements such as labor laws and rest periods.

Doing all of this takes time. For example, a patient needs 24-hour support. The agency can offer daytime care immediately, but needs 48-72 hours to find caregivers to cover the shifts.

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Holidays and weekends

When it comes to agencies, they’re ready to start the care on weekends. However, some administrative processes like insurance verification can be done only during business hours.

What happens when requesting emergency care

Phone consultation

The process starts with a brief discussion of the needs. The agency needs to know about the current situation, so feel free to share all the details. For some, detailed questions might sound intrusive. But remember that the coordinator is trying to understand the situation and determine staffing requirements.

Assistance needs

The coordinator wants to understand what type of help the client needs. Some need supervision and support, while others need full help. In-home care provides non-medical services like bathing, light housekeeping, toileting support, mobility, and transportation.

Mobility is one of the safety factors. Specify whether the client can walk independently, needs help, or has fallen recently. When heavy lifting is involved, the agency needs to assign a caregiver who is physically capable and has safe transfer training.

Knowing the specific needs, the agency can assign the right caregiver.

Final take

As a home care agency, we understand the challenges. Providers do their best to speed up the process, but some things are out of their control. Compliance, staff availability, lack of information or strict requirements regarding the caregiver can delay the start.

For families, it is important to stay prepared. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Contact us now, and we will discuss caregiver availability with you.