MetroCare Hawaii – PLUS answers some frequently asked questions (FAQs).
How long have you been in business?
MetroCare Hawaii – PLUS was founded on the Big Island of Hawaii in 2001.
What kind of home care services do you provide?
MetroCare Hawaii – PLUS provides numerous home care services to people in need of assistance with their activities of daily living. We provide assistance with activities such as toileting, bathing, dressing, personal hygiene, meal preparation, ambulation, and transferring just to name a few. To see how we might be specifically able to help your family, click on our Care Needs Assessment tab.
What is your minimum hours per shift, hours of operation, and service areas?
MetroCare Hawaii – PLUS is here to help 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays. We can provide care wherever you call home, including private homes/apartments, rehabilitation centers, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, hospices, and more. We’re also extremely flexible in our minimums. Unlike other agencies which require that you hire them for at least several hours a week, our weekly minimum is two hours, thus, allowing for changing circumstances and increased cost-effectiveness. If you need us to help out for six hours this week and two hours the following week, no problem. Our goal is to provide the right amount of assistance for each individual situation – no more, no less. Finally, MetroCare Hawaii – PLUS serves clients throughout all areas of the Big Island of Hawaii, Oahu, and Maui.
Is there a charge for an initial consultation?
All our initial consultations are free of charge. Essentially, families of a loved one would rather require a more thorough assessment to better determine the level of care needs which requires a Registered Nurse (RN) assessment.
How do I start with your services?
Call the respective office where you want the services to take place. In the East Hawaii, Hilo area, call (808) 520-0034; in West Hawaii, Kailua-Kona area, call (808) 329-9484; on Oahu (all areas) call (808) 678-8500; and on Maui (all areas within the island of Maui) call (808) 249-8888. Our friendly and knowledgeable intake staff will endeavor to walk you through the process and gather all the information specific to your situation. However, it is highly recommended that you schedule a free in-home assessment to determine the level of care needed. Once this process is done and agreed upon, we then forward this to the Staffing & Scheduling Coordinator to assign the most suitable Care Associate to your care from our pool of available manpower.
Do you charge extra for night and weekend care?
No. Our rates are the same whether it is weekend or weekdays. Rates are only adjusted when there is a change in the level of care that is being provided.
Is there a “Service Agreement”? If so, what is the cancellation policy?
Yes. This is necessary because it spells out each party’s expectations and stipulates what the level of care is, what the rates are, the client’s rights, and the consent to provide the care based on the “Plan of Care”. You may cancel the services at any time during the delivery of care without any penalty as there is no specified length of time within the agreement that obligates you otherwise. Your only obligation for payment is on services that have already been provided.
Do you perform background checks on your employees and are they insured and bonded?
While we endeavor to recruit the best care associates, it is an essential part of our hiring process to conduct a comprehensive background checks on all new applicants. First, being a contracted provider with Department of Health means that we’ve agreed to frequent audits by the state to ensure we are maintaining certain standards at all times. From a hiring standpoint, it means that we must interview all prospective hires in person, do fingerprinting, and run nationwide background and criminal record checks via Fieldprint to ensure that the individual has never been flagged or arrested for abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation. Applicants must then pass a written test, as well as a hands-on test of practical skills, such as how to transfer someone from a wheelchair safely.
Once hired, all new staff must be certified in Basic Life Support (BLS), which means that they are able to provide CPR, choking assistance, and defibrillation in the event of a life-threatening situation. As a State-contracted agency, we are also required to provide all staff training in-house and have a Registered Nurse (RN) conduct an in-depth clinical evaluation and risk assessment for every new client.
Finally, before we hire anyone, we ask ourselves this question “Is this somebody I would want taking care of my mom or dad?” We want to be able to answer this question with absolute certainty that yes, this person will be thoroughly able to take care of your mom or dad. Our client’s safety and well-being is our top priority, and we continually make this a part of our hiring practices. And yes, all our care associates are bonded and insured.
Is there supervision of the caregivers by the administrative staff?
Absolutely! All our care associates are not only trained in their respective responsibilities, they are also monitored, supervised, and evaluated by our Clinical Supervisor, as well as by our Human Resources Supervisor. Our care associates are also required to attend our ongoing in-service training conducted periodically throughout the year.
Why should I go through your agency as opposed to hiring someone privately?
There are so many issues and concerns that families need to consider. For instance, what do you do when your direct-hire caregiver is sick or on vacation? Are you ready, willing, and able to handle all the employment issues, such as filing with the State Department of Labor and handling worker’s compensation social security and other associated taxes? Are you available to oversee, monitor, and coach the caregiver to ensure the best possible experience for your loved one? What liability are you potentially exposing yourself and your family to? When you hire privately, you are in essence an employer and as such, come all the inherent risks and responsibilities. Caregiving is our passion and our business. This is what we do best. We work to ensure that the care the recipient receives is the level of care and support he or she rightfully deserves and needs.
What makes MetroCare Hawaii – PLUS different?
Being locally owned gives us the flexibility to manage our agency the way you would want and deserve. Our fully trained administrative staff work closely together as a team to provide support that exceeds your expectations every step of the way. Our success lies also with our Care Associates who go above and beyond their call of duty to ensure the ultimate in client experience. We are proud to say that we have a team of dedicated care associates who share the philosophy that is unique to us. All these attributes contributed in earning us a reputation in the community as an agency that is very accommodating and easy to deal with.
