This guide is for the step after you have a short list and before you commit to any agency. A reference is a household the agency has served, and the agency picks which households you hear from. The call is only useful if you prepare for it: write the questions down, ask for the reference list in writing, and keep a log of who said what.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
What the reference list is and is not
A reference list is the agency's own material. It shows who the agency is willing to put forward and tells you nothing about the households it did not offer. Treat it as a starting point. The public files you can look up yourself, described in how to check any home health agency in five federal lookups, come from outside the agency. Keep them on a separate part of your sheet so you always know which facts came from the agency and which came from a file.
Ask for the right households
Ask for two or three households that have used the agency for help in a house like yours. Ask whether those households needed the same kind of help you need, such as help getting around the house, help with meals and laundry, or overnight coverage. Ask how long each household has been with the agency. A household that has used the agency for a short time can still be useful, but write that down so you weigh it correctly.
Write the questions before you dial
Use the same questions for every reference so the answers can be compared side by side. Useful questions cover how the first week went, whether the same aides came back, how the household was told when the usual aide changed, how a complaint was handled, and whether the household would choose the agency again. Add one question of your own that reflects what worries you most about your situation, and write it on the sheet before the call.
Keep the call notes apart from the agency's paper
Write each call on its own sheet with the day of the call, the first name or role of the person you spoke with, and a short paraphrase of each answer. Do not record the full name or street address of a reference household on a shared document unless that household agreed to it. Mark every answer as something a reference said, and mark any impression you add as your own. A star rating or warm praise on the phone is not a check. Set the answers beside the answers the agency gave you to the same questions.
When the references do not match
If the agency offers no references, ask why and write the reason down, word for word if you can. If every reference describes the same few smooth points and nothing else, ask for one more household that had a harder experience, such as a change in the aide assigned or a problem with the schedule. A list that only holds easy stories has not been checked. If health questions come up during a reference call, they go to the family's doctor, and the health details stay off your sheet.
Confirm the agency is on the public listing first
Before you call any reference, confirm that the agency appears in the public listings for your area. The agencies listed by ZIP code page shows which Medicare-certified home health agencies are registered in each area of the St. Louis metro. If the agency you are considering does not appear there, note that on your sheet before the reference call, and ask the agency to explain the gap in writing.
What to bring to the next step
Before you commit, your sheet should show who you called, what each reference said, which answers you could confirm from a public file, and which parts you could not confirm. Put the unconfirmed items at the top of your questions for the agency. An agency that answers those questions plainly and in writing has given you something you can check later.