FAQ's
How can I really figure out what type of services my loved one needs?
When you contact Triangle At Home Care we will set up an assessment meeting with our Client Coordinator who will help you develop a specialized plan for your loved one based on his/her individual needs. The type and amount of services needed are based on client’s current overall condition, family/community support currently in place, client’s and families request for care and assistance.
What back up support can Triangle At Home Care give me and my family?
Triangle At Home Care can help each client and their family coordinate their care, not only with our staff, but with other care providers that may be assisting clients. Our Client Coordinator and our caregivers can assist each client with the many details of day-to-day household management and planning. We are pleased to be an advocate for each of our clients and their families. Also, Triangle At Home Care works with families and clients to give referral sources for other assistance that may be needed.
How can our loved one’s care be coordinated with our doctor and other health care agencies?
Our Client Coordinator and Associates work closely with the client’s physicians and other health care agencies, to provide the most comprehensive care required for each client.
What makes Triangle At Home Care distinctive in the area of in-home companion care?
Our compassionate, professional caregivers are committed to providing each client with excellent, quality in-home care. The Triangle At Home Care team enhances in-home independence through the highest level of respect and consideration for each client and family. Our professional caregivers consistently provide the highest level of in-home companion care with the on-going support from our client coordination staff. Our Companion Aides have special training in in-home senior care, along with on-going training and support from the Triangle At Home Care support team. This combination offers each client and their family the utmost in companion care.
Why use your service when we can just find our own help?
We save you time. When you need someone to help you usually need someone sooner rather than later. We spend time doing personality assessments to ensure that the caregivers fit into the caring line of work and will be a good fit for you.
We only hire people who pass a thorough background check, including: criminal records, DMV, current car insurance, and reference checks.
TAHC bonds / insures all of our employees so you are protected.
We have a worker compensation program for all of our workers. If our caregivers get hurt on the job, we are responsible for dealing with the outcome, not you.
We spend time training our employees continuously and shaping them into using our philosophy of giving genuine quality care. We provide our caregivers ongoing training by highly qualified and experienced trainers.
In the event your caregiver care giver is not available anymore, moves, etc, does not fit with your personality, we find another for you.
We do the payroll, relieving you of that on-going responsibility.
Why use your service versus another service?
We are not a franchise. Therefore, we do not have to pay tens of thousands of your dollars to a corporation for our business. We are able to pay our caregivers more money. This allows us to attract and keep the most qualified care givers available. We also can pass the savings on to our clients.
With one business owner having over 20 years experience as a successful Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, we bring his expertise to our business. He and his staff are available to assist families with the difficult transitions and issues associated with elder care that often can leave people feeling vulnerable and upset.
Additionally, we have a very qualified and experienced eldercare specialist. She has over 20 years experience caring for elders and training caregivers, as well as teaching and training care givers. She has a tremendous amount of knowledge of all aspects of elder care and specializes in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Do you offer continuity of care?
Because companion care and medical care are very different types of jobs, no one person can provide that kind of continuity of care. We therefore are aligned with other reputable home care agencies. These agencies offer at home medical care and give our clients priority. By being aligned with these agencies, we offer our clients a continuity of care.
What is your fee schedule?
Our basic fee is $17 an hour, with a minimum of two hours for each visit. The price will be higher for weekend and holiday service. We also offer 24 hour coverage, 7 days a week at a special rate.
How can I pay for your services?
Medicare does not cover companion in-home services. Our services are covered by many long-term care insurance policies. We also accept check, cash, Mastercard and Visa for payment of services.
Who decides about my medical care or treatment?
If you are 18 or older and have the capacity to make and communicate health care decisions, you have the right to make decisions about your medical/mental health treatment. You should talk to your doctor or other health care provider about any treatment or procedure so that you understand what will be done and why. You have the right to say yes or no to treatments recommended by your doctor or mental health provider. If you want to control decisions about your health/mental health care even if you become unable to make or to express them yourself, you will need an “advance directive.”
Other Questions:
What is an “advance directive”?
An advance directive is a set of directions you give about the health/mental health care you want if you ever lose the ability to make decisions for yourself. North Carolina has three ways for you to make a formal advance directive. One way is called a “living will”; another is called a “health care power of attorney”; and another is called an “advance instruction for mental health treatment.”
Do I have to have an advance directive and what happens if I don’t?
Making a living will, a health care power of attorney or an advance instruction for mental health treatment is your choice. If you become unable to make your own decisions; and you have no living will, advance instruction for mental health treatment, or a person named to make medical/mental health decisions for you (“health care agent”), your doctor or health/mental health care provider will consult with someone close to you about your care.
How do I make an advance directive?
You must follow several rules when you make a formal living will, health care power of attorney or an advance instruction for mental health treatment. These rules are to protect you and ensure that your wishes are clear to the doctor or other provider who may be asked to carry them out. A living will, a health care power of attorney and an advance instruction for mental health treatment must be written and signed by you while you are still able to understand your condition and treatment choices and to make those choices known. Two qualified people must witness all three types of advance directives. The living will and health care power of attorney also must be notarized.
Are there forms I can use to make an advance directive?
Yes. There is a living will form, a health care power of attorney form and an advance instruction for mental health treatment form that you can use. These forms meet all of the rules for a formal advance directive. Using the special form is the best way to make sure that your wishes are carried out.
When does an advance directive go into effect?
A living will goes into effect when you are going to die soon and cannot be cured, or when you are in a persistent vegetative state. The powers granted by your health care power of attorney go into effect when your doctor states in writing that you are not able to make or to make known your health care choices. When you make a health care power of attorney, you can name the doctor or mental health care provider you would want to make this decision. An advance instruction for mental health treatment goes into effect when it is given to your doctor or mental health provider. The doctor will follow the instructions you have put in the document, except in certain situations, after the doctor determines that you are not able to make and to make known your choices about mental health treatment. After a doctor determines this, your Health Care Power of Attorney may make treatment decisions for you.
What happens if I change my mind?
You can cancel your living will anytime by informing your doctor that you want to cancel it and destroying all the copies of it. You can change your health care power of attorney while you are able to make and make known your decisions, by signing another one and telling your doctor and each health care agent you named of the change. You can cancel your advance instruction for mental health treatment while you are able to make and make known your decisions, by telling your doctor or other provider that you want to cancel it.
Whom should I talk to about an advance directive?
You should talk to those closest to you about an advance directive and your feelings about the health care you would like to receive. Your doctor or health care provider can answer medical questions. A lawyer can answer questions about the law. Some people also discuss the decision with clergy or other trusted advisors.
Where should I keep my advance directive?
Keep a copy in a safe place where your family members can get it. Give copies to your family, your doctor or other health/mental health care provider, your health care agent, and any close friends who might be asked about your care should you become unable to make decisions.
What if I have an advance directive from another state?
An advance directive from another state may not meet all of North Carolina’s rules. To be sure about this, you may want to make an advance directive in North Carolina too. Or you could have your lawyer review the advance directive from the other state.
What is a living will?
In North Carolina, a living will is a document that tells others that you want to die a natural death if you are terminally and incurably sick or in a persistent vegetative state from which you will not recover. In a living will, you can direct you doctor not to use heroic treatments that would delay your dying, for example by using a breathing machine (“respirator” or “ventilator”), or to stop such treatments if they have been started. You can also direct your doctor not to begin or to stop giving you food and water through a tube (“artificial nutrition or hydration”).
What is a health care power of attorney?
In North Carolina, you can name a person to make medical/mental health care decisions for you if you later become unable to decide yourself. This person is called your “health care agent.” In the legal document you name who you want your agent to be. You can say what medical treatments/mental health treatments you would want and what you would not want. Your health care agent then knows what choices you would make
How should I choose a health care agent?
You should choose an adult you trust and discuss your wishes with the person before you put them in writing.
What is an advance instruction for mental health treatment?
In North Carolina, an advance instruction for mental health treatment is a legal document that tells doctors and health care providers what mental health treatments you would want and what treatments you would not want, if you later become unable to decide yourself. The designation of a person to make your mental health care decisions, should you be unable to make them yourself, must be established as part of a valid Health Care Power of Attorney. |
