NPDA- Senior Care Sarasota FL

Know the credibility of a senior care company before you hire.

Q) A home care agency told me they were a member of the National Private Duty Association. What credibility does this really mean?

A) The National Private Duty Association was founded in 2002. The organization was created to help provide a consistent framework of operation for Private Duty home care companies to both protect consumers as well as the credibility of the senior care Sarasota industry. Typically Medicare Agencies belong to AHIFF.

Not all senior care Sarasota companies are alike.

Most senior care Sarasota companies operate from either one of two very distinct models – caregivers who are hired by the home-care companies and placed as their employees, or individuals who are placed by staffing companies or registries. This is a very important distinction since registries have no control over the caregivers they place in seniors’ homes. A problem exists with “staffing companies” who place what they call independent workers as caregivers in homes. In most cases, these independent workers really become employees of the family. But the families are often unaware of this employment status difference. The client becomes an accidental employer.
The NPDA does not represent registries.

The NPDA, as well as the companies their organization represents, has a number of guidelines in place to help protect consumers.

You can find a searchable data base of the senior care Sarasota companies who live by these rules on their Web site at www.privatedutyhomecare.org. These guidelines include background and reference checks, drug screening and testing, 24/7 and back-up care, caregiver training and client logs that track what happens in a senior’s home. Franchise companies in particular have very defined policies for their caregivers that go above and beyond even what many states require.

The NPDA currently represents more than 1,000 member organizations throughout the United States that provide private duty, private pay in-home care services for the elderly and disabled. One of their biggest accomplishments since their founding was to create model legislation that helps states enact laws that not only protect the public but keep costs affordable.
Any organization approved as a member is at least following the minimum requirements to be considered a member.

Beyond that ask a lot of questions on how the caregivers get paid and are background checked. Call Comfort Keepers Sarasota for a 20 Questions brochure (941) 584-9569 or email us at Sarasota@comfortkeepers.com.