• carry out an in-home visit
• look into insurance benefits and publicly funded benefits
• ask for an assignment of benefits (where payments are made by the insurer directly to the agency)
• ask you to sign a form to release medical information
• ask you to agree to and sign a service contract
• carry out an assessment (by the director of nurses) to determine the level of care required
• discuss the costs of suggested services
• come up with a plan of care that shows the person's diagnosis (what is wrong), functional limitations (what the person can and cannot do), medications, special diet, what services are provided by agency, advice for care, and list of equipment needed
• give you a written copy of the plan of care
• send a copy of the plan of care to the person's doctor
• select and send the right caregivers, only to the level of care needed, to the person's home
• adjust services to meet changing needs

Expect the Agency to:

• be an advocate, advisor, and service planner and to share information clearly with you
• give a full professional assessment
• get in touch with the care receiver's doctor as part of the assessment process
• have knowledge of long-term-care services and how to pay for them
• fill out the paperwork for publicly funded benefits
• show no bias or favor to service providers who may have contracts with the agency
• provide confidential treatment that will not be talked about with others
• provide a written account of care when you ask for it
• have a proven track record of being honest, reliable, and trusted if the agency handles a person's money