Best Home Care, Inc

While I was out-of-state on a long planned vacation my mother experienced some life changing situation requiring around the clock home care. I contacted Best Home Care and I was very pleased with the immediate temporary solution that Mike was able to provide. He quickly put together a group of very caring and supportive workers who professionally met the needs of my mother.. The only need that was not met was the inability of her providers to provide any transportation, although, they readily accompanied my mother to her doctors.

Best Home Care provided 24 hour care for my mother during the last 7 months of her life. With their support, my mom was able to return to her home from a skilled nursing facility, and to live the final months of her life with dignity, comfort and even joy. She was so happy to be out of an institutional setting (which often felt like a high-class prison), and back in her own apartment. The ability to wake up and eat when she wanted to, choose what she wanted to eat, and to have immediate help with toileting and getting around the apartment were huge factors in her high quality of life at the end. Mike, the company's owner, was a good communicator and was open and responsive to feedback. There was also a way to reach him or the office staff after hours and on weekends if something urgent came up. With any kind of in-home support, the care is only as good as the individual caregivers. My mom needed a team of 5 caregivers to provide round-the-clock care, and in the beginning there were a few that were not a good fit. (One made anti-Semitic comments and also did not seem to be attentive to fall prevention -- my mom fell on her watch, and we never got a clear explanation of why.) I communicated my concerns with Mike, and though it took a while, he was able to provide an alternate caregiver. On the other end of the spectrum, some of the caregivers were over-the-top outstanding -- attentive to my mom's every need without being intrusive, generous, patient, kind and responsible. These women were truly angels, escorting my mom through her final weeks with compassion and expertise. They saw their work not as a job, but as a calling, and helped my mom feel more at ease as she prepared to depart this world. They were with her in her last hours -- my mom slipped away peacefully one afternoon, after enjoying a big breakfast that morning. Although I was sad I could not be there with her at the moment of her departure, I was comforted by knowing that she was in such good hands with her caregiver, who was in close communication with hospice and us -- both by phone and in person -- those final days. It does cost more to work through an agency, but my mom was hugely fortunate to have the resources to do this. It is especially helpful to have the agency deal with all the HR issues, insurance, and scheduling. For example, during the holidays, they lined up substitute caregivers for staff who wanted to be with their families for Christmas. Providing 24-hour care for an elder is an enormous undertaking, and it really does take a village. By having this service (rather than cobbling together privately hired caregivers, or trying to do it ourselves), we were able to spend quality time with my mom in the final months of her life, and also have time to deal with the many other aspects of caregiving, including medical, financial and legal coordination. I would highly recommend Best Home Care, with the provision that you be open to communicating and making adjustments (especially in the first month or so). It's also helpful if you can let them know what kind of criteria and personality might facilitate a good match -- for example, does your loved one enjoy conversing a lot, or do they prefer a more low-key personality who is not always talking? Best Home Care's services helped make a hard time much easier, and we feel lucky that we were able to work with them.

We have used Best Home Care for a little over a year for my mother who has various joint and mobility issues. Mike and his staff make a very big effort in finding a good caregiver match. Mike has been available on weekends and evenings which we really appreciate. We have been through a few different caregivers, but currently have someone who is very caring, helpful, and nurturing. She documents what she does each time, and how my mom is doing (how much she eats, how often she uses the restroom, what activities they do together etc.) which is helpful for me to see when I visit. On days when our regular caregiver is unable to come, they make a big effort to find a replacement if needed. My family has been very satisfied with their service and care.

Through Best Home Care, we had three different caregivers, rotating to help with my 52 year old husband with Alzheimer's. All of them were kind, reliable, and conscientious. They either provided in-home day care (such as helping with his personal care, taking him and our dogs on walks, companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping) or overnight care (primarily to ensure that someone was sleeping there in case he awakened), while I had to tend to either work or other family members outside the home. All of them were respectful and communicated well, so that I knew how he was doing, and he enjoyed their company. I had used several other agencies before, and found Best Home Care to truly live up to their name. Their staff that handles billing and scheduling is also excellent. My husband had to move to a different location, so we no longer needed their services. However, if I ever need a caregiver again for a family member, I would certainly use them!

Thank you for providing personal caregiver services for my father over the last month or so. The 3 or 4 caregivers all did excellent work! A special "thank you" to Darlene who went above and way beyond helping to straighten his old apartment and then get him situated in his new one!! I will definitely use your services in the future if needed. Thank you!

BHC is very responsive & flexible. Their staff are caring & compassionate. Some of the staff intuitively knew how to be most effective. I will not hesitate to recommend their service.

Our caregiver was always prompt, if not early. She was energetic and treated my mother with kindness and care providing for her as if she was a family member. We received several visits and phone calls from the manager of Best Home Care to check on things. Would still have them if my mom's health declines.

Mike went out of his way to meet with us initially at the hospital and then acted quickly to meet our needs at home. Most of the time, we were not able to give him much advance notice of scheduling his caretakers. Quality of staff was mostly good-excellent -- all very caring. Levels of experience and confidence varied.