A home care director oversees the staff as well as the delivery of services to seniors, discharged hospital patients and disabled people who live in their own homes. Home care staff work in people's homes to assist them with activities they have difficulty with, such as preparing meals, bathing and remembering to take prescribed medications. A home care director's ultimate responsibility is to ensure that the patients are being properly cared for by his or her staff.
Home care directors often work with medical insurance and/or government agency employees depending on any disability or pension benefits a client may receive. Not all home care clients pay a home care agency the full cost of its provided services, as medical insurance and government benefits or supplements may fund at least part of the expense. A home care director must understand the particular billing systems for home care recipients in the country, region and area in which his or her company provides the services.
Services such as grooming, cooking and light cleaning must not only meet the client's needs, but often strict government regulatory guidelines as well. Home care directors, which are also sometimes called homecare leaders, must regularly read and incorporate updated guidelines into their operating duties. It's the home care director's responsibility to ensure that all regulations and laws are properly met. For example, in some countries, only home care attendants with medical training may take a client's blood pressure or administer medication, while lesser credentials are typically required for workers who provide only homemaking services such as meal preparation, grooming and laundry.
A home care director must also ensure that attendants who drive clients on errands such as grocery shopping or to doctor's appointments meet the legal driving requirements for their area. Not only do home care leaders or directors spend much of their time coordinating client needs with staff requirements, they must also follow up with patients. A home care director may randomly schedule a client visit to check with him or her on how well the attendant is managing the expected tasks. The director may have a supervisor who does this evaluation, then reports the results.
Ensuring there is always enough qualified staff to meet the needs of released hospital patients, disabled persons and seniors is an ongoing task of a home care director. He or she will often keep a database of qualified home care attendants on hand in case regular workers are sick or otherwise unable to work. Attendants are typically needed for a wide range of shifts since some clients require both evening and weekend home care.
