At SYNERGY HomeCare of Arlington/Alexandria, we receive many inquiries from individuals about our company and the services we provide. This post is the second in a series designed to answer some frequently-asked questions from prospective clients.
Are your caregivers employees or contractors?
Our caregivers are W-2 employees. The customer pays Synergy HomeCare for services and Synergy pays the caregivers their earned wages, and all employment taxes. Synergy HomeCare also carries workers compensation insurance in case any employee incurs an injury while at work. This employment arrangement places all liability and responsibility on Synergy HomeCare. If you were to hire a caregiver directly rather than through an agency like Synergy HomeCare, you would become the employer and then be responsible for employment taxes and all of the federal reporting requirements that go with it. Additionally, you would be responsible for any medical expenses associated with an injury sustained by the caregiver while at work.
Does your agency run background checks on its caregivers?
Under the Virginia Department of Health home care regulations, the agency is required to run a criminal background check on each caregiver, within 30 days of hire. The regulations require that the background check be run with the Virginia State Police, so it covers the Commonwealth of Virginia only. Synergy HomeCare does not believe that checking criminal history in Virginia alone is sufficient. We run a national background check, in addition to the one for Virginia, using a reputable third party vendor service. This national background check includes (a) criminal history, (b) sex offender registry, (c) social security number validation, and (d) driving record. The regulations prohibit us from hiring a caregiver with a conviction of any “barrier crime” which includes murder, sexual crimes, kidnapping, etc.
What kind of training do the Caregivers have?
Most caregivers come to us with a certification as a nursing assistant. This means that they have been trained by an approved school on the proper techniques for providing personal care, that is, assistance with activities of daily living (dressing, grooming, bathing, toileting, eating, drinking, ambulation and transfer). The training includes 120 hours of classroom and 80 hours of clinical hands on training (usually in a nursing home). Caregivers that will provide companion and homemaker services rather than personal care, do not require this nursing assistance certification. We hire only experienced companion and homemaker caregivers. All of our caregivers receive 12 hours of continuing education per year using self study and take home tests, plus additional classroom training on important topics such as infection control, hospice care, proper transfer techniques, etc. Our training program exceeds the requirements set by the Department of Health under our licensure.
How do you supervise your Caregivers?
We supervise our Caregivers in several ways:
- Monitor their arrival and departure at work (clocking in and out) using telephony
- Supervisory visits by an Nurse at least every 90 days and more often for complex cases
- Weekly review of time sheets and care notes
- Unannounced visits by the owner and other staff members
- Quality phone calls to the client by our staff
What happens when my Caregiver can’t come to work?
One of the great advantages of working with an Agency like Synergy HomeCare is that we have many Caregivers available for work, and we have a policy to provide a back-up Caregiver in the event your Caregiver has an emergency, is ill, or needs a day off. So rest assured, we will always be there for you even if your primary Caregiver cannot make it to work.
Is your Agency bonded and insured?
Synergy HomeCare, in compliance with its licensure with the Department of Health, carries professional liability and crime insurance (commonly referred to as bonding). We are happy to provide documentation that our insurance policies are current.
