Home Instead Senior Care Reviews

We started using Home Instead of Mishawaka because the VA chose it for us. My husband was a Vietnam veteran and was getting his health care through the VA AND he was also a Hospice patient. At my initial meeting with a representative, I was quite impressed. She said all the things I wanted to hear. I specifically wanted to know if any of their caregivers had experience with ALS patients. She assured me that they did and that's who we would get. She asked me if there were any "absolutes" in caregivers. I said they have to like, if not love dogs. We have a 12 pound Shih Tzu who is easily the sweetest dog in Indiana. Again, I was assured that we would get only dog lovers.

We needed more hours of coverage for our mom. In addition to private care, we contacted Comfort Keepers and Home Instead. In less than 3 weeks Comfort Keepers people did not show up as scheduled... No notice to family at all one time... Text at 1130 at night for next am. Home Instead has been very good about keeping us informed of schedule issues. One of the 2 caregivers that have come is a good fit. The other was terrible and even dissed us when we asked her to wear a mask. She sat and did nothing her whole shift. We have asked them not to send her anymore.

Used the company website to make contact and request information on care and price. Was told someone would contact me next evening. Didn't happen. Rang that evening, got through to emergency line, only line open, was told person in my area would contact me lunch time next day, was given a name. Next day no contact! My conclusion don't bother with this firm 'cause they couldn't be bothered with you.

I spent the day comforting my mom as she cried into the phone over the fact that this group of deplorable “health workers” abandoned her with no help and no notice because her house was not clean enough when they were supposed to be cleaning it! I watched myself as the last one didn’t even bother to fold the towels or take the trash out and my mom is paralyzed and in a wheelchair. They lied in their reasoning as a means to not get sued, showed up and walked in without knocking, frightened and embarrassed her. Their workers are not vaccinated and put my mom into danger each time they came over. I don’t normally write reviews but the world needs to be warned about these people. RUN from this company!!!

Being new to home care and caregivers I wasn't sure on what to expect as far as what the company promises and what the caregiver does exactly. I was drawn by the orientation they gave. Well they are not fully staffed for starters, all we got mostly was new employees, also a different one each day. That is bad for a person with dementia. They do not clean without a push start, they sat mostly and watched TV. All around bad experience for the time we used them.

If you want individualized care for your loved one do NOT choose the Home Instead franchise in Frankfort Ky. They do not train caregivers on individual clients and will not notify you of changes in caregiver schedules or even bother to call and ask if changes will work for your family. In addition, staff often doesn’t even show up for shifts potentially causing health, safety, welfare concerns. The agency is not concerned with their clients’ safety as a priority.

I found what I was searching for, very informative, it was very detailed and will use this report to sell this vehicle in the future. I was pleased to find out it was not involved in any accidents or floods and was well taken care of by previous owners.

Beware. When you sign a contract with Home Instead, you have to give a 2-week deposit and agree to giving a 2-week notice if discontinuing services. However, they terminated my parents contract with only a 3 1/2 day notice and over 40 days later, we are still waiting on them to return the deposit. Their caregivers could not handle my fathers Alzheimer's-related behaviors although they bragged about their experience with Alzheimer's patients.

Worst experience of my life. Billed for days I was hospitalized? Called at 9pm to tell me they did not have anyone to stay. Shifts not covered. Went to the bank. They initiated a fraud claim. Willy is a snake. Took money out of my account for services not provided. When I tried to cancel because family was going to assist Debbie would not let me cancel. Got text messages saying caregiver was busy putting up Christmas tree. She told me, "I’m not coming tomorrow either. I am going shopping." Does this sound like people you want to associate with, don’t think so. $1200 for two weeks robbery. The attorney general has opened a case.

Family member has hired 3 sitters. The first one was searching the house. The second stole and the current one borrowed money, talks on inappropriate topics, is constantly on her cell, borrows the car and constantly questioning about the family.

We needed help with my 99 year old father and 90 year old mother who wanted to stay in their home, that had lived in since 1955. The nurse at St Mary hospital gave me three references and I chose Home Instead in Livonia MI. The people I initially asked for help were incredibly understanding and made the decision easy for me. Brittany has been wonderful and the caregivers Dawn and Tamiko are world class people and friends to my parents. The support they have given is excellent and my family couldn't be happier for ourselves and our parents. Thanks to the Home Instead team for making this transition a happy one! Mark

My husband is completely bedfast and we need people who can handle bathing, dressing, feeding among many other things. They must be able to use a Hoyer Lift. We have had many different people and they have all been very kind and considerate of us both.

Our caregiver is excellent. She is dependable and self motivated. She takes great care of my mom and helps with household chores. The company has been very cooperative with necessary scheduling changes. The service has been a wonderful much needed break for me as I also take care of my brother, a disabled veteran.

I went away for the weekend and hired home care for my ailing mother who had cancer and was bedbound. Saturday night the worker was scheduled but never showed up. Out of frustration and based on their complete lack of competence I cancelled Sunday’s home care visit. The home care worker showed up anyway but as it turns out she provided us with the wrong patient name (breech of personal information). Turns out she was at the wrong residence! Totally unreliable and very unprofessional!

The caregivers were unreliable so we didn't feel confident that our loved one was in good hands. Staffing was on the ball about calling us about problems with our sitters personal problems but at times unable to provide a caregiver. The employees in the business office were rude. There was a two week billing period with approximately a 5 day time period for receiving the bill and returning payment or a $25 charge was required. Communication was poor between the Client Service Representative, the business office, and responsibilities of the caregivers care plan for our loved one. I read the client reviews on the Home Instead Senior Care website and found them very questionable.

We used Home Instead in Oak Park, IL. I feel when we needed them the most they failed us. Most of the staff was ill equipped to handle my mother's needs as she deteriorated. She was bedridden and it took 3 people to change the soiled sheets and her, most of the caretakers had no idea what to do. As if that is not bad enough one of the caretakers decided to clean my mother up, exposing her private parts in front of family (her grandchildren) that were there visiting. I'm appalled that the caretaker would think that was acceptable in any way, shape or form. They also lack communication, as supplies were delivered from hospice boxes were stacked in a place that was not easily seen and never communicated that supplies had been delivered. If you love your family member I do not recommend them at all!

It is important to understand that the experience I describe here is related to one of Home Instead's many franchises. I have read negative reviews that have nothing to do with the Culver City franchise I used. In fact the home instead office that I dealt with was highly professional, courteous, and client-oriented. At our initial meeting they provided me with a list of qualities that I could expect from my caregivers. They made it very clear that I was to notify the office at any time that I felt I was not appropriately being cared for.

Since negative stars are not available, they get one. Totally negative on the high turnover staff. The RN's are combative and prone to slander. They treat workers and families horribly. If you want caregivers sleeping during the shift, and having basically no idea on proper care of your elder, this is the company for you. None of the home staff are licensed, and most are morons. Unfortunately, once they are in your life, its near impossible to get rid of due to attachment with the good ones. Near two years into this adventure leaves a bad taste.

They lasted two days as they dropped my loved one TWICE in 2 days. They also have questionable pricing as 2 twelve hour shifts is not considered 24 hrs in their pricing. They showed one shift as awake and the other resting but charged the higher rate for both. When questioned they told me they didn't have any 24 hour shifts. They are nothing but baby sitters.

I had just hired Home Instead Senior Care in Bel Air Maryland for my brother who needed care. Before hiring Home Instead Senior Care my first question was, "How would you know if your employee will be clocking in since their way of doing things does not involve clocking in on the customer phone." I was informed by Kim that Home Instead can see where they are at all times. So I hired them and they sent over a caregiver Laura and she apparently was clocking in on her phone then leaving the house then coming back to clock out at the end of her shift. She would do certain chores but then leave for the remainder of the required hours.

Home Instead lies about everything, from background of caregivers, to age and experience. They will say a caregiver has worked for them for a long time and then when the caregiver shows up she says it is her first day to work for Home Instead. Age is misrepresented and caregivers are up to many, many years older than patients are told and they don't feel up to doing much other than sit. The caregivers who have worked for them before are dissatisfied with the company and say they are interviewing with other agencies but would like to work independently. The company is low paying but charges top prices for the caregivers. I do not recommend this company as I had bad experiences with them.

From the moment I met with Becky from Home Instead I felt that she had my father's best interest in mind. The next day, both she and our potential caregiver, Brittany, visited with my dad and they made a plan and a schedule for in home visits. My father really appreciated Brittany's help and company. I really appreciated Becky's help finding insurance based PT and OT. She went out of her way to make sure that my dad had follow-up care. I would recommend Home Instead to anyone who needs to plan elder-care for a parent. They are professional, kind, and caring.

Two of the seven different caregivers Home Instead sent us bonded well with the patient, actually gave him happiness in the last months of his life. And so when I requested these two special caregivers HOME INSTEAD would not allow them to return. Instead they sent other caregivers who actually made the patient's last months hellish. I am shocked by the cruelty of this company. It is supposed to be a service and yet they are crueler and detrimental. It was extremely hurtful and frustrating to an already difficult situation. STAY AWAY from HOME INSTEAD.

Well, they lasted a total of 1 1/2 times visit. I met with one person initially and did some sort of interview time thing in my home. I thought this person was fairly pleasant and easy to talk to. So the next time he came back with another worker (They seemed to be some sort of "package deal".) His agenda was to barge into my home, and personal, sacrosanct space, and re-make it according to "his image & liking". He seemed a tad confused, and thought he lived there. Not me! This is so disrespectful! And the other person's agenda was to sit down and never really get up again the entire time or do anything helpful or useful. Alas, we have run into this similar situation many times, with each type of "home health care" we have hired.

I do not know anyone that likes or would tolerate a parade of strangers through their home but evidently that's the way Home Instead, does business. In the last 8 months, we have had 5 different people come and go from this company. What does it take to find one person that will do the job of just sitting, watching, and occasionally helping. The job is easy and indoors! They started out just fine for the first couple of months but then a different person every other day started showing up.

I had an interview with this company’s Fort Collins branch last week and was offered a position. I received a phone call today saying that after speaking with my references, I wouldn’t be a good fit to their company. I then contacted all of my references and NOT ONE of them was contacted by Home Instead on my behalf. Dishonest administration. I would avoid them at all costs.

My mother has been receiving Home Instead care in Ohio. She resides in the Cleveland area. The family thought of Home Instead for her. However, the caregiver who has been serving her for the last 2 plus years has been lazy and cannot meet her needs. Also, she does not communicate with her office or return calls from clients. She also wants to help herself with personal items. Her name is Jackie and she is based out of the Oakwood village, Ohio office. So, that being said if your loved one is in need of senior care I would strongly look elsewhere for a better service with better staff. These part-time people are not very reliable and are worthless.

They don't pay miles like they say in handbook. My niece has been there 3 1/2 months and still hasn't got paid for them. They keep telling her someone else is in charge of that. The workers inside the office don't communicate with each other. And the schedule are so screwed up. They expect you to work when you are sick. They don't care about you or client. Would not recommend this company.

Needed help with my mother quickly, so we hired Home Instead Grass Valley. Want to let people know that you have to feed the caregivers on top of paying a high rate. Additionally, the caregivers did not shower my mother for 9 days and when I asked to reduce the price because they had not performed the basics, they refused and were rude. Home Instead is expensive and unprofessional.

I called Home Instead in Saratoga Springs, NY last year. I needed someone to stay home with my Dad so that my Mom could get out of the house and feel comfortable that he was safe while she was gone. From the beginning I had a positive feeling about the people they employ. The woman that met with us to setup services was very professional, yet relaxed enough that I didn't feel pressure to sign the contract the day we met. She followed up with me to see if I had any questions, and again didn't seem to pressure me to sign.

I hired this agency in Albany NY for a period of several weeks. Two different employees stole from me during this time. One stole personal property and another took cash from my purse. Instead of the agency discussing this with their employees, they said I must be mistaken. I would caution anyone hiring from this company. They only pay their employees $10 an hour and yet collect $25 from the clients. So, I can understand the employees needing extra money but stealing is not the way to go.

In 2009 - I hired HISC for my elderly father to drive him to occasional doctor appointments. Eventually I hired a live-in caregiver from an altogether different company until he needed to move into a nursing home and passed away early February 2015. In 2013 - I hired HISC for myself when I needed a driver (using my car) to take me to my appointments following my own foot surgery. The service for my father was adequate as was mine. ALL bills received were PAID IMMEDIATELY for both my father and for me.

We were searching for home care for our 96 year old mother and hired Home Instead Senior Care from Sandwich MA. who provided us with a person to assist with mom's daily routine of meal prep, bathing, and household chores. Her schedule was Monday and Friday from 9 until noon. She started on July 31. On Friday August 18th HISC called and said the aid was not going to be there on Monday the 21st as scheduled but would be there Friday as scheduled. HISC couldn't send a replacement until Thursday the 24th. This left us scrambling to find coverage for that shift. We later found out my mother's aid was sent to another job that day.

The good, the bad, and the very bad... think twice before calling them... I have thought long and hard about posting here. After thinking though I thought it best to let others know about our service from Home Instead Senior Care in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. First, we find that 1/2 the staff are not qualified and unreliable. The other half are not bad, and a small mix of those ones are good caregivers overall who do care. We have had so many that seem to not have any experience whatsoever. Put in a home that they are not qualified to handle. But I understand that as if you look on their website for help wanted... you see this...**No previous experience necessary** as a Caregiver.

This company overfilled by thousands and instead of crediting my card, they send me a check two weeks later. Which was still less 150 that they still owed me. Beware of these people. They are crooks. The service was no better unfortunately. Different persons everyday and sometimes two different people a day, necessitating me to show yet another person where things are. Just recorded phone call from Home Instead. Now they are telling me the remainder of the money owed me is a service fee which was never disclosed and which the girl says they keep. I wouldn't leave a rat to be looked after by these people. If you people value your parents, find another agency to come into their homes other than this one; they are shady, do not pay attention to the client well, and will put exorbitant charges on your credit card. There are a plethora of other agencies out there. Save yourself the headache!

I had my dad in a nursing home and pulled him out due to substandard care. I employed Home Instead to take care of both of them in my house. They worked with us to find the right match of caregivers and my parents. After a few ups and downs with the workers (all issues were resolved to my and my parents' satisfaction) we wound up with 2 workers who came into the house. These workers are caregivers, not CPN's or nurses of any kind. They reminded my parents of medicines, feed them and kept them company in the last year of their lives. Without them, I would not have been able to care for my parents. The women who came into the house were reliable and caring. The owners were wonderful people who worked with me on payment arrangements. I would definitely use them again and in fact have told my daughters that when it's my turn, they should use them.

Unqualified young adults/teenagers that didn't have the professional training required for this type of job. They randomly switch out people you have been working with for months, are constantly changing their workers' schedules so you always feel like you're behold to THEIR schedule instead of the other way around. One worker (a teenage girl) lost my credit card when running errands and when I informed Home Instead, they blamed me for it and tried to minimize the problem. Just unprofessional and unqualified workers.

I am in NH, and have an elderly mother (90) living alone in her own home in NC. Dept of Social Services, in NC recommended Home Instead, said they were great. I believed them. Being 850 miles away, I said ok. Took 3 calls to get Tammy the nurse on the phone. When I FINALLY got her on the phone, I was frustrated, but the conversation went well. She PROMISED that she'd fax me: WHO will be caring for my 90 year old mother. WHAT will be done. WHAT services do they provide? She confirmed my fax, my email address, etc... Next day, nothing. She then told my NC attorney that I yelled at her. Took 3 weeks before I got a very poor account of what was done, and who was with mom. I didn't EVEN KNOW who was in her home. They put my mother at risk. SHAME ON THEM. I'm quite sure there are other agencies out there who actually care.

My husband has dementia, was with the Milford center for a long time, no problems. As the week end caregiver Crystal was always on time, concerned about quality of work and a great person. When Crystal had to be off we were sent a young woman who WAS NOT CAPABLE of doing the job and I had to call my brother in law to come and help us. I called and talked to several people and was switched to a woman whom I believe was either the manager or owner of the franchise. She was not at all nice, and told me that they would no longer do business with us. That was 2 weeks before Christmas... I've given complaining a lot of thought and I believe this is worth conveying to the corporate headquarters and others who might consider hiring this company. No way to conduct business... and no way to treat a good customer... or anyone!

Their slogan is "To Us, It's Personal" but that's far from the truth. They send a different caregiver every day to a client with dementia, not good, and they never check in to see how things are going. I don't understand where the money goes that they charge (which, watch your bill because they tend to overcharge) because they don't pay their caregivers well, and they screw up on scheduling. We requested a specific day for caregiving, and they told us they would cover it, then failed to and said that wasn't their responsibility. When presented with the possibility of losing a client, they said that's ok, they have other clients.