For most home care companies, having to terminate services with a client is rare. However, when these instances do occur, specific communication strategies can ensure that this goes smoothly. One of the most common reasons home care providers have to terminate services with a client — or not accept the referral in the first place […] The post The Delicate Art Of Ending A Home Care Client Relationship appeared first on Home Health Care News.
This article is a part of your HHCN+ Membership
For most home care companies, having to terminate services with a client is rare. However, when these instances do occur, specific communication strategies can ensure that this goes smoothly.
One of the most common reasons home care providers have to terminate services with a client — or not accept the referral in the first place — is that the company is being asked for things that fall outside of the scope of its offerings.
“They’re looking for wound care, skilled nursing, [physical therapy] (PT), [occupational therapy] (OT) — Medicare-funded skilled services,” Michelle Cone, senior vice president of industry engagement at HomeWell Care Services, told Home Health Care News. “On the flip side, when I was in home health for all those years, we received a significant volume of intake and inquiry calls looking for personal care and companion services.”
HomeWell is a Burkburnett, Texas-based home care franchise that operates across the U.S. The company offers companion care, personal care, as well as specialty care.
In situations where clients need services that the company doesn’t provide, the solution is simple and the communication process is straightforward.
“We always try to say, it’s never a no without an explanation, here’s how we can help, here’s some education, here’s some resources, or here’s some referrals that we can provide to you, beyond just saying that’s ‘not us, good luck,’” Cone said. “Anything that we can do to point them in the right direction, beyond just them trying to figure things out on a Google search as a solution, is what we want to do.”
Cone pointed out that home care providers receiving requests for services that fall under the umbrella of home health companies, and vice versa, highlights the synergistic opportunities and the importance of these kinds of organizations building connections.
In general, breaking the news that a company is ending a client relationship has to strike the right balance of grace and transparency, according to Steve Turner, chief operating officer at Griswold Home Care.
“I think you have to clearly articulate to the family why you can’t do something,” he told HHCN. “We have a tendency in our world to say, ‘Oh, we don’t do that,’ without telling someone why we can’t do that. I’m a big proponent of explaining why this is going on, being transparent, being kind, being graceful and being compassionate. I think you have to have all the pieces in there when you’re communicating.”
Blue Bell, Pennsylvania-based Griswold provides home care services in roughly 30 states. The company has more than 150 locations.
Home care leaders explained that some other reasons an organization would not continue working with a client include living outside of the company’s service area based on distance, or requests for too many short shifts.
Service-terminating scenarios
Similar to when clients ask for services that fall outside of their offerings, the above-mentioned scenarios can typically be resolved with a referral.
There are other actions from clients that fall under a more serious category of service-ending scenarios. For example, clients create a wide variety of safety challenges for caregivers, according to Kerin Zuger, chief operating officer at Caretech.
“We want to be able to support as many people as we can, but in doing that, it’s our responsibility to ensure that our caregivers are going into environments that are safe and supportive,” she told HHCN. “Caregivers shouldn’t have to feel unsafe, or like they are going to be verbally assaulted or physically assaulted. We’ve had situations where we did an assessment, and whether it’s a hostile client or environment, maybe a hoarding environment, or [a] bug [infestation], those are not situations that we’re going to put our caregivers in.”
Omaha, Nebraska-based Caretech is an independent home care company that offers a variety of non-medical services, such as personal care, companionship and household assistance. The company operates across Nebraska, Wyoming and Iowa.
With this second category of service ending scenarios, Zuger believes that it’s best not to skate around the issue. If the client’s environment is the issue, Caretech is often in a position to offer resources that can help improve the situation.
“We’ll help to coordinate resources to help get their plumbing fixed, get rid of the bugs, or help with the hoarding,” Zuger said. “We also talk to them about it, [saying], ‘Hey, don’t feel comfortable sending in a caregiver right now, but let us help you coordinate some resources so that we can get this taken care of.’ We’re pretty direct and upfront.”
While addressing a hostile client can be trickier, Zuger also applies the message of being direct during the process of terminating services.
Discrimination is another scenario that applies to this second category. Harold Entz, area director at Arosa, explained that when clients discriminate based on a caregiver’s sexual orientation or race, the company has to end the relationship with the client. The caregiver would maintain employment with the company.
“If someone’s qualified to do the job and is able to do that on a professional level that meets, or exceeds the expectations, that we have of our caregivers, then far be it for us to withhold the opportunity for them to earn a living,” he told HHCN.
Los Angeles-based Arosa is one of the largest non-franchised home care companies in the country, with 37 locations across California, Utah, Nevada, Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and more.
Entz also noted there are some actions, such as sexual harassment, that lead the company to promptly end a relationship with a client.
“At a bare minimum, we’re going to give them a very stern message that it’s not tolerated and it needs to stop, or we’re going to quit,” he said. “If it’s something that rises to the level of being egregious, then we’re just going to immediately discontinue. A lot of times those decisions are made with the input of the caregiver.”
Typically, Arosa will conduct a thorough investigation to address some of these service-ending scenarios.
“If we do find that the actions willful, or even unintentional, on the part of a client are to the point where we have to part ways with them, then I don’t think that you have to be brutal to be honest,” Entz said. “If you approach it from a very rational, calm, tactful way, more times than not, people are going to understand that the actions that we’re taking are for the safety of our people.”
At a time when home care companies are working to strengthen caregiver retention, terminating certain client relationships can go a long way in ensuring that providers are creating a safe and appealing work environment.
“This is regularly looking at your client roster and making sure that they align with the values of the organization, and that they are clients who are worth it for you to maintain and keep on your roster,” Zuger said. “While it can feel like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t want to cut that money out,’ I think in the long run, it frees up your employees. It helps with retention, reduces turnover and there’s just a lot of benefits of using that strategy.”
The post The Delicate Art Of Ending A Home Care Client Relationship appeared first on Home Health Care News.
