A shortlist feels finished when every name on it has a website, a phone line, and a few favorable-sounding reviews. None of those things shows whether the agency appears on a public file. This guide is for the stage where a family has several names and has not yet checked any of them.

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 list does and does not tell you

Each name on a list came from somewhere: a search result, a referral, a ranking page, a neighbor. The source tells you how the name reached you, not whether the agency is registered, insured, or in good standing. Treat the list as a set of names to check, not a set of finalists.

Ranking pages and star averages are ordered by whoever owns the page. The front page of this desk is an example: its first slot is a disclosed client placement, so a position on a page is not a check result. Read the disclosure on any ranking page before you read the order.

Label every name by its source

Write one of three labels beside each name on your sheet: file, site, or editorial. File means a public record you looked up yourself. Site means something the agency published about itself. Editorial means a ranking, a list, or a review written by someone else. Only the file label counts as a check. A name marked only site or editorial is still unchecked, however complete its listing looks.

The check sheet

For each name, fill in these lines before you call or visit:

  • The exact legal name as it appears on the agency's own contract or invoice, plus any other name the agency has used.
  • The street address and the county where it is registered.
  • Whether the agency appears in the federal lookup for Medicare-certified home health, the federal lookup for in-home non-medical registrations, or both. These are different categories, and a name can appear in one and not the other.
  • Whether the name or owner has changed since the agency's earliest listing you can find.
  • Which cities and counties the agency names in writing as its service area, and whether your street falls inside it.
  • Who employs the caregivers, and what the agency says about how it screens them.

For the federal lookups step by step, see How to check any home health agency in five federal lookups.

Lists from the Google pull

A map listing gives you a phone number, hours, and a count of reviews. Use it to confirm that the name, address, and phone number match your sheet. A mismatch is a question to ask, not a verdict. Read a sample of written reviews for what they describe, such as scheduling, notice when a caregiver does not arrive, and how complaints were handled. Do not count stars. A high average from a few reviews tells you little, and a low one may describe a single bad week.

Ask for the scope in writing before the tour

Before you visit, ask the agency to send its service description, its caregiver screening description, and its complaint process in writing. An agency that has these ready lets you compare them line by line. One that cannot send them has told you something about its paperwork.

Questions for the tour or call

Ask who will be the family's day-to-day contact and when that person answers the phone. Ask how the agency handles a caregiver who does not arrive, what happens to the schedule when the regular caregiver is out, and who writes the care notes and who reads them. Ask how a change to the plan is requested and confirmed, and how a complaint is filed and how long a reply takes. Ask who the caregiver reports to. Write down each answer and the name of the person who gave it. Health questions go to the family's doctor, not to the agency's sales contact.

Where the check ends

A name that passes the file lookups is not thereby a good fit. The lookups tell you the agency is on record. The tour tells you whether its answers match its paperwork. Do not sign until the written scope, the screening description, and the contact route all agree with what you heard in person.

To see which registrations are listed by county, read Federal in-home care registrations by county, St. Louis metro. To understand why the two categories are kept apart, read Home health versus non-medical home care: which record to check.