Right at Home Central Indiana Home Health Care Company Hires Dishonest Caregivers and Wants To Be Paid for Night Shift Caregivers to Sleep! Clarksville, Indiana

October  1, 2012

Dear Rip Off.Com,

I would like to inform you of the poor service provided by a home health care company.  After a recommendation on AARP web site, personal interview with Right at Home owner Jeanie Locy who informed us that they were bonded and employees were screened, we contracted with Right at Home Central Indiana, 639 Eastern Blvd., Clarksville, IN  47129 , phone number (812) 285-9100, in March of this year, 2012, to care for our father.    Below you will find some of the reasons we had to discontinue this agreement.

1.  Emphasis was placed on our requirement that night shift caregivers were not to sleep, but were to do what tasks could be accomplished without disturbing our father.  We found this requirement was disregarded at great risk to our fathers safety.  First let me explain that I stay with my father 24-7 one week a month.   I saw firsthand how the caregivers performed their duties; both first shift (7 a.m.
to 7 p.m.) and second shift (7 pm to 7 am).   The incompetency I witnessed was shocking and made me wonder about the quality of care he received when I wasnt there.  One night my fathers need for assistance in the bathroom woke me up.  I found the caregiver asleep on the couch and had to
nudge her twice to wake her up.  Another caregiver spent her second shift outside smoking and throwing her cigarette butts in the yard.  On another occasion this same week I heard my father fall.  I found him on the floor in the kitchen having fallen while trying to put dishes in the dishwasher.  The caregiver was standing next to him with her hands on her head, not trying to assist him in any way.  This all happened in one weeks time.  My other stays revealed other caregivers sleeping, one even bringing her own pillow and blanket.

2.  One caregiver charged items for herself on our fathers charge account in an amount over $500. Again, let me explain before going into detail.  One of the duties of the Right at Home caregivers is to shop for the clients needs; groceries, picking up prescriptions, etc.  While shopping 25 days out of the 38 days she worked this caregiver also purchased a set of dishes, a sweeper, baby diapers, and too many other items to list here.  She not only committed fraud but also left our father unattended while she shopped.  Following Right at Home policy, she used our fathers car for these shopping sprees.  We were reimbursed for these purchases, fees for time spent shopping, and mileage from the owner.  Even though we were eventually reimbursed, countless hours obtaining copies of receipts and time spent at police station caused loss of time from employment. This along with the stress and heartache we experienced cant be repaid.

3. On several occasions Right at Home could not schedule caregiver for shifts.  This left our father at great risk.  The fact that we were not always informed that our father had been left unattended added to
the danger he was placed in.  We understand that employees cant work because of illness and other problems but we should have been informed each time this company could not provide service.   

4. Communication between staff, director, and owner is nonexistent.  

5. Communication between caregivers is nonexistent.  We had to furnish a folder with instructions that each caregiver was to record anything the caregiver working the next shift should be aware of such as time medicine given, etc.   

6.  Caregivers are to prepare meals for clients.  Many times this consisted of frozen packaged meals.  We had to arrange Meals on Wheels to provide proper nourishment for our father.

7.  We experienced many other problems such as wet clothes left in washer overnight, mail not brought in for a week, caregivers spending countless hours on personal cell phones, house not kept clean and many other problems too many to list.

It is our hope that no other elderly person is exposed to the poor care provided by this company.

Sincerely,


Barbara
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