Most families sign the agreement, pick a start date, and wait for the first visit without ever walking the house with the agency. This guide covers that missing step, the home walk before the first shift. It is a plain check of the route, the rooms, and the household items a worker will meet, written on paper, with a named person for each gap. Nothing here is medical advice. It is a records check of your own home.
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.
Book the walk as its own visit
Ask the agency who will walk the house. A supervisor or care coordinator should come, not only the worker who will be sent. Put the walk on the calendar as a separate visit so no one rushes it into the first shift. Have a family member present. If the person receiving care can take part, let them point out where things are kept and which spots they want left alone.
What to record on the sheet
Entry: note where the worker parks or arrives, the steps, the lighting at the door, and how the door opens. Record whether the worker will use a key, a code, or a lockbox, and write who holds each one and who changes it.
Route: walk the path from the door to each room the worker will use. Mark loose rugs, cords across the floor, pet gates, boxes, and any step without a rail. Note which items can be moved before the first shift and which need a decision from the family or the agency.
Bathroom and bedroom: note the lighting, the floor surface, and any grab points or equipment already in place. Write what is there. Do not test or adjust fixtures during the walk, and do not ask the worker to move heavy furniture or repair anything as part of the walk.
Kitchen and supplies: note where food is kept, where clean dishes and cleaning items are kept, and which appliances the worker may use. Record who restocks each item.
Phone and contacts: confirm the worker has a way to reach the family, the agency office, and the family's own contact list. Note where the family keeps that list. Health questions go to the family's doctor, so the sheet should say where the doctor's name and phone number are written.
Exit: note how the worker leaves, which doors are locked, and who locks them. Write who checks the back door, the windows, and any lights or heaters left on.
Write each gap with an owner
Each open item gets one line: what it is, where it is, who fixes it, and whether it must be closed before the first shift. Family items stay with the family. Agency items, such as the agency's own forms, training questions, or scope limits, stay with the agency. If an item falls outside what the worker is permitted to do, the agency should say so in writing and name the person who handles it instead.
Questions to ask during the walk
Who writes up the walk, and does the family get a copy the same day?
If the worker sees a hazard during the first shift, what do they do, and whom do they call?
If a gap is still open when the first shift arrives, does the worker start anyway, and who decides?
Does anything found on the walk change the written care plan, and who updates it?
Where will the signed sheet be kept after the walk?
Check the agency before you rely on it
A walk tells you about the house, not about the agency's record. Before the walk, confirm the agency's listing against public files. The desk's guide to checking an agency with five federal lookups explains each step: how to check any home health agency in five federal lookups. If the help you need is non-medical, the desk's note on which record applies to which kind of help may also save time: home health versus non-medical home care, which record to check.
Keep the sheet current
Put the signed sheet in the household file with the agreement. When the first shift arrives, check each open line with the worker and close it on paper. Any item still open after the first week goes back to the agency supervisor for a written decision.