If you are caring for your parent, a younger sibling with disabilities or someone else you care about, but have a full time job you may have very little time to yourself. If the loved one you are caring for requires lifting, turning, and transfering from one location to another you may be at risk for injuries, without proper education and attention to your body positioning. Back and shoulder injuries are the most common. If you are vigilant and “on duty” day and night and have little time to run errands, go to the doctor for yourself, catch up on sleep, and socialize with friends and the rest of the family, full-time caring for a loved one is taking a toll on you. Getting outside assistance can help with some of the tasks you are responsible for, and preserve your relationship as a son or partner, rather than becoming a tired nurse.

You can arrange service over the phone call to 727-688-0587. One of our care coordinators will be glad to speak with you about your needs. Providing answers will make you more aware of what assistance is available and what would be most beneficial to you. The care coordinator will set up an initial assessment to meet with you and/or your loved one in the home.

We’re 24/7 on call. Whether you need to arrange for service or need to change your schedule, we are always here to help.

Typically many clients need services in a very short period of time. Comfort & Care is able to accommodate these demands and start services the same day that the request is received. We can start services as quickly as it is needed.

In-home care services can be provided wherever the home is — a private residence, a senior living community, hospital, or while staying with a friend or family caregiver.

You will meet the owner, registered nurse, or care coordinator (or a combination). An initial assessment is done in your home, not over the telephone. The initial assessment highlights what you can do for yourself. Further, it involves speaking with your oncology provider, family doctor, and any other professionals who provide health and social services to you. Other members of your family are consulted.

We have implemented several important precautionary measures. They include:

• Screening processes for all clients, caregivers before starting services or scheduling.
• We continue to follow current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.

The plan is carefully and professionally developed with you and your family. It is written out and copies are given to all involved. The plan lists specific duties. The plan of care is updated as the needs change.

Yes, however, our agreement is non-binding; you can end it, whenever you want, for whatever reason.

Comfort & Care of Tampa Bay provides a wide range of services.

• Health care (medication management, physician’s appointments, physical therapy)
• Personal care services (bathing, eating, dressing, toileting, grooming)
• Household care services (cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping)
• Social care services (companionship, meaningful activities, conversation)

Registered Nurse provides skilled services that cannot be performed safely and effectively by nonprofessional personnel, which include:

• medication management,
• injections,
• wound care/dressing changes,
• administering an enema,
• education on disease treatment and prevention.

Licensed and insured caregivers will transport and accompany you in their vehicles or your own vehicles to doctor’s appointments, grocery stores, social gatherings, and other places. The transportation service is only available in conjunction with a companion and/or personal care service.

Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) and Home Health Aides (HHAs) are confused often because they have similar roles in patients’ lives. Both CNAs and HHAs provide personal care, cook, clean or help patients run errands. CNAs usually work with multiple patients and have the authority to take vitals, administer medication, and liaise between patients and healthcare professionals in addition to providing personal care like HHAs.

Most HHAs work with one patient or a small number of patients in patients’ homes, hospice, nursing homes or care facilities. CNAs work with a wide variety of patients in doctor’s offices, hospitals, surgical centers, and clinics in addition to homes, hospice, nursing homes, and care facilities.

CNAs are certified by the state of Florida and HHAs have a certificate or evidence of successful completion of at least forty hours of home health aide training from a public vocational-technical or non-public career education school.

Yes, all of our personnel have been extensively screened through in-depth interviews and reference checking, and are certified as CNAs or HHAs. Comfort & Care of Tampa Bay also performs a criminal background check, DMV record review, social networking profile review, and prior employment verification. All of our RNs, LPNs, CNAs, and HHAs carry professional liability insurance.

We select potential caregivers based on their experience, background, and personality to ensure they are a proper fit for us. This screening process includes:

• Social Security number trace and verification
• Federal and state criminal records, felony and misdemeanor verification
• National sex offender registry check
• DMV record review.
• License/credential verification
• Fraud and Abuse Control Information System (FACIS), which searches for any wrong actions of individuals and entities in the health care field.
• Social networking profile review.
• Prior employment and education verification.

Comfort & Care of Tampa Bay makes sure that the caregiver we schedule with your loved one is the most qualified for your loved one’s situation and needs. If the assigned caregiver is not as compatible as we hoped, we work quickly to find a replacement.

Comfort & Care of Tampa Bay works quickly to cover the shift with another most qualified caregiver as a replacement. We make a pledge of reliability to all our clients and our record is outstanding. In over a decade of our loyal services, not one client has ever been left alone for even the smallest fraction of time. Our clients can count on us to be there for them.

Our usual procedure for providing continuity of care is to set up 2 to 5 caregivers, depending on the number of hours requested. A client that needs round-the-clock care will typically require five caregivers. The assigned caregivers help to fill in for each other, which eliminates the stress on the client and their family to have a temporary substitute.

Yes, we will coordinate your care with your doctors, social workers, case managers, family members, powers-of-attorney, and any other important people you designate.

The care coordinator visits to check on our clients as often as needed to ensure quality care.

At Comfort & Care of Tampa Bay, the caregiver’s daily care reports are emailed to the client’s family to show exactly what work was completed so the family stays up to date with the care provided. If there is a concern reported, the family is notified immediately. Otherwise, the reports are emailed weekly.

Please call 727-301-2664, our after-business hours line. It is answered every time you call. Regardless of the time, you can call in an emergency night or day. Our care coordinators respond to your call 24/7 so that you or your loved one can get the help you need.

Our supervisors and care coordinators are able to be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to assist our clients, their families, and caregivers so that any issue may be addressed and resolved quickly.

Comfort & Care of Tampa Bay is a private pay agency. This means we cannot accept Medicaid or Medicare for payment. We accept long-term care insurance plans and private pay.

Comfort & Care of Tampa Bay will do all of the paperwork for you.

At first, we send the insurance company all the information we need in order to start services, including company credentials and then an initial assessment, as well as the client’s care plan. On Mondays, we submit the invoices and nursing notes to the insurance company directly so that you can receive the reimbursement on time.

No, you don’t pay your caregiver directly. The caregivers are not allowed to accept tips or gifts. You’ll pay the company directly. For your convenience, we accept personal checks and long-term care insurances. We do not accept Medicare or Medicaid.

Comfort & Care of Tampa Bay bills on a weekly basis with payment due upon receipt each week. We also require a one-week deposit with all new service agreements. For your convenience, we accept personal checks and long-term care insurance. We do not accept Medicare or Medicaid.

Comfort & Care offers hourly care at a single competitive rate whether it is during the day time or night with no additional charge for weekend care or above 40 hours (overtime), however for holiday services the rate is calculated at times and a half, or 1.5 times the usual fee.

We hire caregivers who work with clients on a recurrent schedule, usually 2 to 5 primary aides for each client to provide certain personal care assistance and household tasks. The assigned caregivers help to fill in for each other, which eliminates the stress on the client and their family to have a temporary substitute.

In order to attract and retain the best caregivers and achieve lasting relationships between our clients and caregivers we ask our clients to engage us for at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. It is acceptable to change the hours after your initial start-up, as often the real needs are exposed after the caregiver has started services. The Care Manager will introduce and train the caregiver.