Below is a listing of Frequently Asked Questions for Keep Safe Care. Of course, this is not an all inclusive list and we keep adding new questions all the time. You can either scroll down see questions devided into topics, or type search terms in the box on the left-hand side of the page to see highlighted questions below.
About Our Service
What makes Keep Safe Care different?
Keep Safe Care is different because we truly empower caregiving, both with our clients and caregivers. Our purpose is to reduce the stress associated with bringing a caregiver into your home. Keep Safe Care does more than just put a “warm body” into your home. Our extensive use of technology allows us to match you with a caregiver not just on your care needs but also on cultural preferences, language and even hobbies. We empower you in the selection process and work with the family to ensure a “rightness-of-fit” between the caregiver and the client. You will get more reliable, dependable, and consistent care. No more “no shows” or rotating caregivers. Safety and kindness are what we are all about. As a bonus, due to the efficiency of operation, we are able to charge 10% to 25% less than most other private duty agencies in the area, with no minimum hours required.
The industry average for turnover has risen to 83% and truancy (no-shows) is 25%. Keep Safe Care combats these high truancy and turnover rates by first treating our caregivers like responsible adults and giving them the tools to deliver great care. Secondly, Keep Safe Care strives to pay our caregivers substantially more than the industry average and take less in profits from our clients.
Taken together, Keep Safe Care truly is the next level of caregiving.
Can you contact our office after hours?
Yes, you will always be able to contact the owners after regular business hours either by phone or text or email.
How hard is it to contact someone if I need assistance?
Keep Safe Care prides itself as being a “connected” technology company. You can always reach the owners, managers or caregivers through a variety of communications channels including text, mobile, email, or direct messenger.
What area(s) does Keep Safe Care service?
Presently, Keep Safe Care only services the great Austin, Texas area. That includes central Austin, Hyde Park, Endfield, Rollingwood, Westlake Hills, Sunset Valley, Balcones, Barton Creek, Lost Creek, Tarrytown, Northwest Hill, West Branch, Rollingwood, and Jollyville. In addition, we also service Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown, Sun City and Lakeway. In addition, there are plans to expand outside of central Texas to include Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, The Woodlands in Texas as well as numerous cities in Florida, California, South Carolina, and Arizona in 2022.
Caregiving and Caregivers
What do you mean that you 'match me with a caregiver?'
What type of care options do you offer?
The most common form of care needed is just a companion to help with tasks around the house, while others will need more intensive care delivered by a skilled nurse or clinician. In between, there is a whole spectrum of care offerings, and Keep Safe Care can supply these caregivers based on your assessments. We offer the following types of caregivers in increasing skill abilities: Companion Care, Non-Medical Home Care and Home Health Assistance. In most cases, the less intensive your care needs are, the lower the cost of the caregiver. A complete listing of our care offerings can be found here.
If I need care immediately, can I get a caregiver?
While Keep Safe Care‘s big differentiation is our ability to match you with the best caregivers in order to reduce no-shows and turnover, we do have the ability to get you caregivers on short notice. Even when you need care immediately, we have access to hundreds of local caregivers, and as such, can still find a match for you within 24 to 48 hours. If you need more immediate care, we can supply a temporary caregiver to meet your critical need.
I need a caregiver who does not speak English. Do you have foreign language caregivers?
Yes, Keep Safe Care offers caregivers who are bi- and multi-lingual and match you with caregivers not only on language as well as on cultural issues (food, hobbies, customs).
Do your caregivers follow a care plan?
As part of your profile with Keep Safe Care, your care plan is integrated into the care hours you have scheduled with a caregiver. This written plan is generated when you first request a caregiver and select the days of the week and hours to be worked. This care plan specifies how a caregiver will assist on everyday functions and activities. and is signed off by the caregiver after each visit. These activities include dressing, eating, bathing, toileting, transferring and continence. In addition, there may be other items (such as medications, wound dressing, injections) that may also be performed and signed off per the care plan. Our system also allows you to print out a Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) form in order to submit reimbursement for your care.
Do your caregivers run errands (like pick up medications)?
As a service to our cleints, Keep Safe Care’s caregivers can perform errands, such as picking up medications, grocery shopping, etc. These errands usually incur a tax-free trip charge of between $10 to $30 to reimburse the caregiver’s for the use of their vehicle that is paid directly to the caregiver.
Does your company offer a driver service for doctor's appointments?
Yes, Keep Safe Care does allow our caregivers to drive our clients with their own vehicle to doctor’s or other medical appointments. We call this service Keep Safe Transport and you can find out more about it here including fees and discounts.
Can your caregivers do homemaker duties like cook, clean, and laundry.
As a service to our clients, Keep Safe Care’s offers Homemaker Services in addition to our caregiving service. This includes Keep Safe Clean, Keep Safe Meals, and Keep Safe Wash. You can find out more about these services here including rates, minimums, and discounts.
Who do I contact if I need a change in care or hours?
Schedules and care needs change all the time. One thing that makes Keep Safe Care different, is that we allow the clients to interface and request schedule changes with the caregiver directly. They are the first individuals you should contact about a need for a schedule change. The caregiver will, in turn, contact the Keep Safe Care office administrator and someone from Keep Safe Care will then contact you to confirm the schedule change. In addition, you can contact Keep Safe Care directly with any changes, and we will then convey them to your caregiver. Contact can be via telephone call, text or email.
Do your caregivers follow COVID-19 protocols?
Yes, Keep Safe Care follows the recommended CDC guidelines and protocols for COVID-19 screening, including wearing protective gear, conducting a daily contact / symptoms survey of both the caregiver and client, and taking both the client’s and caregiver’s temperature upon each visit. Under no circumstance will we allow a pontentially compromised caregiver to enter a clients residence nor work in a home where a known COVID case is operating.
Do you offer 24/7 or Live-in care services?
Yes, Keep Safe Care offers both 24 hour / 7-days-a-week care options as well as Live-in care. These care options require a care coordination plan and in most cases will involve managing a team of caregivers. Each client’s case is different, so please contact your local Keep Safe Care representative to find out more information to begin this process.
What if I need a CNA, LVN or a Physical Therapist?
Keep Safe Care‘s caregiving staff does include CNAs (Certified Nurse Assistants) and LVNs / LPNs (Licensed Vocational Nurses / Licensed Practical Nurse). We also have access to occupational, physical, and speech therapists and therapy assistants. For more information about Keep Safe Care caregiving, please follow this link.
How do you handle caregiver no-shows?
According to the National Association of Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) report on private duty, in 2019, 25% of all caregivers are truant (no-shows) on any given day. What makes Keep Safe Care unique in the industry is our success in severely reducing the incidence of caregiver truancy or absenteeism. While it is extremely infrequent for a Keep Safe Care caregiver not to show up to take care of their client, it does happen, usually when a caregiver has a personal emergency or is sick themselves. In those cases when a caregiver cannot make their scheduled appointment, our staff is notified and we will send another qualified caregiver to cover for the caregiver on a temporary basis. Keep Safe Care understands how important consistent, reliable, and dependable care is to our clientele, and we make every effort to deliver it, always.
What if I do not like my caregiver?
Occasionally a client requests a different caregiver. To do so, just contact your Keep Safe Care agency’s coordinator or management and we find another caregiver that meets your needs, no questions asked.
Do I get to keep the same caregiver or do you send different ones all the time?
Our system matches a caregiver with your care needs and we perminentaly assign the selected caregiver to you/the client. We understand how important it is to build a strong relationship between teh caregiver and the client. There are some occasions where a Keep Safe Care location will need to send an alternative caregiver, but this is the exception rather than the rule and management will notify you prior to that happening.
Are your caregivers bonded?
Yes, all the caregivers who work for Keep Safe Care are bonded and insured. In addition, our caregivers are W-2 employees of Keep Safe Care, not 1099 contractors as found in most other private duty agencies.
Do you do a background check on your caregivers?
Yes, all caregivers employed by Keep Safe Care must pass an indepth background test and drug screening prior to working in any client’s home or residence. We use Hire Image to perform all our background checks, references, and drug screening.
Costs and Pricing
Do you offer discounts or a sliding fee for care?
Keep Safe Care offers a sliding scale fee structure that lowers the hourly rate with the more hours of care that you need. Hourly rates are dependent on the type (intensity) of care you require, and how much care (number of hours) you need. We list our pricing structure on our rate card.
What are your typical rates for care?
Because Keep Safe Care uses technology to keep overhead costs down, our rates are a little bit lower than most local agencies. Rates depend on a number of factors, including where (what city) the care being delivered, how much care is needed, and what type of care is required. Most often, clients who requre a personal care attendent who assists with activities-of-daily-living (ADLs) and needs 20 hours of care will pay somwhere between $21 and $24 per hour. Keep Safe Care offers a sliding scale fee structure that lowers the hourly rate with the more hours of care that you need. You can find our pricing on our rate card.
Do you require a minimum amount of hours of care?
Keep Safe Care does not require a minimum number of hours in order to engage a caregiver with us. If the shift is less than 2 hours, we charge a $10 trip fee that goes directly to the caregiver, if that caregiver needs to travel more than 10 miles to deliver care. If the caregiver lives nearby, there is no trip charge. The more care you need, the lower the hourly rate we charge.
Do I need to sign a contract?
Keep Safe Care does not require a you to sign a contract that sets a minimum number of hours with prepayment, like many other priviate duty agencies. We do require a services agreement that outlines the hours and hourly rate. As well we ask that you sign a non-pirating statement and a COVID-19 waiver. You may cancel services at any time. We only require a valid credit card be on file in order for you to continue engaging our caregiving service.
How much notice do I need to give if I no longer need a caregiver?
Keep Safe Care does not require a minimum number of hours in order to engage with us. There may be a trip charge which we give to the caregiver for less than two (2) hours of work, depending on how far the caregiver needs to travel. Again, the more care you need, the lower the hourly rate we charge.
Can I hire the caregiver myself?
While Keep Safe Care does not recommend clients hire their own caregiver, there are occasions when a family or individual wants to employ the caregiver directly. In the event that a client desires to hire the agency caregiver directly, Keep Safe Care requires a written 7 days’ notice, the caregiver consent and a $2,500 referral fee payment. The caregiver will begin working directly for you upon receiving payment. Please contact your local agency for more details about this option.
Billing and Payments
Do you require prepayment for care?
Keep Safe Care does not require prepayment for care. All of our billing is done via credit card on a weekly basis. Based on the scheduled hours and the hourly rate, we run a credit card pre-authorization (similar to how a hotel or rental car agency does) for the upcoming week. This amount is “set aside” on your credit card statement. Once the care is delivered and the caregiver forwards their time sheet, that pre-authorization is then captured as a charge and Keep Safe Care collects the payment. If there are no hours scheduled, then no pre-authorization is executed.
What type of payment options do you offer?
All of Keep Safe Care’s billing is done via credit card on a weekly basis. No other payment type is offered.
Do you offer Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) reimbursement statements?
Yes, Keep Safe Care supplies its clients with a weekly Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) reimbursement form which is accepted by most insurers in the United States. The filled in form is sent to you weekly via email.
Can I use my Veteran's Aid and Attendant Benefits with your agency?
Yes, Keep Safe Care supplies its clients with a weekly Veteran’s Aid & Attendant Benefit reimbursement form which they can use to get reimbursement from the Veterans Administration. The filled in form is sent to you weekly via email.
Do you accept Medicare / Medicaid payments?
No, Keep Safe Care is not a licensed agency that can accept Medicare / Medicaid or any other Federal or State regulated paymnets. We only accept private payment via credit card.