Choosing a Home Care Agency: Questions About Services
In this ongoing series, we’ll be sharing questions to ask as you evaluate home care agencies, and Pallas Care’s answers to those questions. In this post, we’ll be sharing more information about our services. For the full checklist or to schedule a free consultation, email Jennifer@Pallas.care
Do you have a list of services that you provide?
In line with state regulations, all of Pallas Care’s services are non-medical in nature. Our services fall under four general categories:
Personal Care (Bathing, grooming/hygiene, dressing, incontinence care, transferring from bed/chair, help walking, medication reminders)
Domestic Help (Light housekeeping, laundry, washing dishes, sanitation, grocery shopping, meal preparation)
Companionship (Conversation, games, light exercise, accompany on outings, daily or weekly check-in)
Personal Assistance (Transportation, running errands, organization, maintaining calendar and schedule, assisting with computer/phone use)
For more information on services that home care aides/agencies can provide as well as services we are prohibited from providing in California, please see the CA Department of Social Services' Home Care Services Fact Sheet
Is [location/address of care recipient] in your service area?
Pallas Care works with clients residing in Los Angeles county. We can serve clients living in private homes or facilities such as assisted living, memory care, and even hospitals.
What is your minimum shift length/weekly minimum hours?
Our minimum shift length is 3 hours and weekly is 6 hours. For weekly, you can choose 1 shift of 6 hours or 2 shifts of 3 hours. The longer the shift is, the easier it is for us to find a caregiver to work with you.
Do you offer live-in care?
Pallas Care does not offer live in care at this time. We do offer 24/7 care, which we do through 2 daily shifts of 12 hours each.
Agencies who do offer live-in care often do so by offering their caregivers a per-diem rate: for example, you pay $500/day, and the caregiver earns $250/day. However, under California's wage and labor laws, this arrangement, while common, is illegal. Caregivers in a private home earn overtime after 9 hours, which means that they must be paid at time and a half. On call time also counts as working time and must be paid at the regular rate of pay/overtime pay: so if you expect a caregiver to wake up and help should you need assistance at night, they must be paid for that time even if they are asleep. At current minimum wage rates as of May 2024, that would be $504/day for the caregiver. Choosing an agency that offers live-in care puts you at risk of liability for failure to pay minimum wage and/or overtime if the agency are not following labor laws.
For the full checklist or to schedule a free consultation, email Jennifer@Pallas.care
