How much does it cost to sign up for in home care? This may shock you but the answer is… nothing. Agape In Home Care offers a zero cost, zero obligation sign up process. Our goal is that everyone 75 and older has contacted an accredited care agency (preferably a member of www.hcaoa.org) and signed up with them in ADVANCE of actually needing care. That way if/when you actually are in need of care, all the hassle of completing paperwork is behind you and we can more quickly serve your immediate need.

How much lead time do you require? Agape In Home Care has been able to find Caregivers the same day someone calls, however, the more time you give us the better. Usually 48 hours is enough. Partly it depends on your unique situation such as how far away from a major population center you live or what particular skills you need a Cargiver to have.

Are your Caregivers trained? Yes, they are highly trained and the state of Washington requires them to at minimum take a 75 hour training course and pass their Home Care Aide test to earn their HCA certificate. Most of our Caregivers have taken one step further which is to gain their Certified Nurse Assistant Certification (CNA). In addition to their credentialed training, Agape In Hope Care offers continuing education classes and Caregivers are required to take approved Continuing Education (CE) classes to maintain their credentials.

Do you have a license? Are you licensed?  Yes. The Washington state Department of Health (DoH) is the organization that oversees our industry and issues licenses. In the past the DoH issued licenses to in home care agencies based on passing a minimum qualification. Agape In Home Care was one of a recent class of agencies who had to attend a class, pre-create our entire business operations including all 85 pages of our policies and procedures manual and pass a DoH audit deficiency-free all prior to earning our license. Our license number is IHS.FS.60908890. It renews on 11/01/21 pending a successful audit in 2021.

Are your Caregivers trained in CPR? Yes. We constantly strive to provide the best Caregivers in the industry and cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a key component of Agape In Home Care providing the best care.

Are your Caregivers trained in First Aid? Yes. First Aid is an important skill for anyone to have and especially those caring for a vulnerable population. Our Caregivers are assigned to your loved ones in order to keep them safe and first aid is an important part of keeping you or your loved one safe.

Do your Caregivers have food handlers permits? Yes. Even though it is not always part of every care plan to prepare food, we require all our Caregivers to have a valid food handler’s permit as an essential part of their training and a key component of Agape’s plan to keep you and your family safe at home.

Do you have insurance? Yes. This is in place not only as a Washington state requirement for licensure, but also as a way to keep you safe. Do not allow any Caregiver (or any service provider for that matter) into your home without proper insurance, that would put you at too high of risk. Currently our policy is though Philadelphia Indemnity at a level of $1,000,000 and an umbrella aggregate of $3,000,000. You are in good hands with Agape and our insurance coverage.

What is your minimum shift? One hour is the short answer. However, there is a premium for short shifts under four hours. Therefore the common answer to that is that the minimum is four hours because that is when the regular hourly price of $36 per hour kicks in.

What areas do you serve? What is your coverage area? We are currently serving King, Snohomish, Pierce and Spokane Counties. Within those counties some of the cities we have our largest concentration of Clients are; Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Sammamish, Issaquah, Newcastle, Renton, Kent, Auburn, Seattle, West Seattle and Mercer Island.

Do your Caregivers drive? Most do. We have four categories of drivers. Those who drive and are authorized to drive Clients in their own car. Those who drive and are authorized to drive Clients in the Client’s car. Those who drive but are uncomfortable driving with Clients in the car. They can run errands for Clients. Those who don’t have a license or car and rely instead on public transportation. Please specify if you require transportation and we’ll ensure you’re matched with a Caregiver who provides the level of service you require.

Do you run background checks on your Caregivers? Yes. Not only do we run a background check, but we also run a federal fingerprint check on all our Caregivers. They must pass both checks in order to be employed by Agape In Home Care. This is not just Caregivers but all our employees and volunteers. We know that you put your trust in us to care for your family and Agape strives to ensure only trustworthy Caregivers are placed with your family.

Are you still operational during COVID-19? Yes. Agape In Home Care has been considered an essential service provider since the beginning of the pandemic. Many of our Clients are unable to function without the services we provide. We would not abandon them. We have an emergency plan that covers all emergencies and disasters and global pandemics are just one category of emergency for which to prepare.

What precautions have you taken since COVID-19? Several. But before I describe what we did, I want to let you know that we’ve always followed a protocol called “Universal Precautions” which basically means that we don’t wait for a diagnosis of a communicable disease before taking safety precautions. We assume that everyone could have airborne or bloodborne pathogens and therefore ensure that we’re always protected and protecting others. That said, once it was declared that we are in a global pandemic, we were on calls with the Department of Health and industry experts to guide our policies and procedures. We immediately offered refresher courses in infection prevention and courses specific to COVID when they became available. We supplied our Caregiving staff with reusable and disposable masks, extra gloves, sanitizer and face shields with instructions to use them all to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Do you offer 24-hour care? Yes. Please see our Services page to learn more about the details of this service. A very common use of 24-hour care is when someone is about to be discharged from the hospital or a skilled nursing facility (SNF) and the family is unsure how things will go upon return home. We suggest 24-hour care to start and as an “insurance policy” to ensure you have enough help at home for the first several days. Once the family has time to assess what are the needs, we will then work with you to reduce the hours to what you need. Common scenarios are that families opt for either a reduction to just overnight or daytime hours. Depending on the situation we can continue care for an extended period or you may with to put care on hold knowing that you’re in our system now and we can be called up at any time to provide care again.

Do you offer live-in care? Yes. Live-in is a specific type of 24-hour care but is only available if you are willing to allow the Caregiver to sleep for 5-8 hours each day. They must be provided their own private room with a door and a soft sleeping surface such as a bed or couch. You will not be billed for the time they sleep, but they will be available in the house in case of an emergency which will give you peace of mind.

Do your Caregivers speak English? Yes. However, a majority of the Caregiving industry (or at least in our region) is made up of non-native English speakers. There are various levels of English proficiency and accents but it is very rare that we have anyone who hasn’t been able to adapt. Most of our Clients enjoy learning about our Caregivers home town, culture and customs.

What does Agape mean? I’m glad you asked. Agape is a Greek word found in the New Testament of the Bible that means Love. But not just any love. It is reserved to represent the very highest form of love, unconditional love, the type of love that God has for creation or that a parent typically has for their own child. We chose this name very purposefully to remind us every day why we are in business. It also holds us to the very highest standard possible.

Is Agape a Christian company? Agape In Home Care was co-founded by two committed Christians who believe that everyone should have the opportunity to pursue their absolute highest calling no matter their age or stage of life, no matter their culture or background and no matter where they are on this journey. When creating Agape’s policies and procedures, the Bible was used to define the standards by which Agape would operate. Agape is here to serve all without discrimination and we have a non-discrimination employment policy. We regularly pray for the flourishing of our Employees and Clients.