The topic of home care can be confusing for anyone newly exploring options, so we’ve provided answers to some common questions below. As always, please contact us if you have additional questions. We would love to hear from you!

 General Home Care Questions

The term “home care” is usually shorthand for non-medical home care, while “home health” or “home healthcare” refers to in-home medical services.

Non-medical home care companies, like Full Heart Home Care, provide companion and personal care services. These include everything from transportation and meal preparation to bathing and incontinence care.

Home healthcare companies are licensed to provide skilled nursing and other therapeutic services, such as wound care, physical therapy and pharmaceutical services. They might also provide home care services.

While using an agency like Full Heart Home Care might cost a little bit more than hiring a caregiver directly, agencies generally provide additional protection for you or your loved one.

  1. Full Heart Home Care LLC is licensed as a Private Home Care Provider (PHCP). This means our activities are reviewed and regulated by the Georgia Department of Community Health, which sets standards for care, employee training, privacy, reporting and client rights. Be sure any agency you use has this PHCP license.
  2. Full Heart Home Care LLC holds workers compensation and general liability insurance policies to protect our employees and clients. If you employ a direct caregiver who sustains an injury on the job, you may be liable for his or her care and may find yourself without help while your caregiver recovers.
  3. Agencies help ensure you always have the care you need in the event your caregiver calls in sick, finds another job or otherwise becomes unavailable.
  4. Employee tax withholding and payroll taxes become your responsibility if you employ a caregiver directly. Full Heart Home Care LLC processes payroll and taxes through a certified public accountant to ensure we are fully compliant with federal and state laws – one less thing for you to worry about.
  5. Finally, Full Heart Home Care conducts extensive background checks and provides ongoing training for our caregivers to ensure they are always prepared to provide exceptional service.

According to the 2018 Genworth Cost of Care Report, home care generally costs about the same as living in an assisted living facility and is far less expensive than nursing homes.

The total annual cost for Full Heart Home Care services may range from about $25,000 to $75,000 or more, depending on client needs. We are not the absolute cheapest option for in-home care, but we are committed to being the most compassionate, customized and thorough.

Countless studies have shown that social isolation and loneliness cause a precipitous decline in physical health. Individuals that stay engaged with the world outside of their homes, benefit from ongoing mental stimulation and light exercise live longer, healthier and happier lives.

Full Heart Home Care Questions

The safety of our clients, their families and our caregivers is always our top priority. Full Heart Home Care continues to operate in compliance with guidelines issued by experts at CDC and WHO, as well as state and federal governments. Our current practices include the following:

  1. Our caregivers are washing their hands with increased frequency and always upon entering a client’s home, after using the bathroom, after handling trash, before handling food and before leaving a client’s home.
  2. Our team is provided with KN95 masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. Due to the recent surge and onset of flu season, caregivers are required to wear KN95 masks throughout their shifts.
  3. We have urged our caregivers to keep up with the COVID vaccines as they have been introduced. While some individuals have opted out of vaccination, about half of our team has received the most recent covalent vaccine that was introduced this fall.
  4. All caregivers have been instructed to regularly disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as doorknobs, refrigerator doors, kitchen counters, etc.
  5. Caregivers are required to complete a short questionnaire before every shift to verify they have not experienced any symptoms of coronavirus or been exposed to individuals who have shown symptoms.
  6. All employees have been instructed to advise management immediately if they do experience any symptoms or suspect they might have been exposed to the virus – and to not report for work in either case.

We continue to accept new clients and take all available precautions to protect our clients and our team members.

Full Heart Home Care LLC only accepts direct payment from clients by check or credit card, but we are happy to provide documentation for you to submit for long-term care reimbursement. Please consult with your private insurance provider to determine whether or not our non-medical in-home care services are covered under your plan.

While Medicaid and Medicare may cover some limited home care services when skilled nursing is also required, Full Heart Home Care services do not qualify for reimbursement through either program.

Full Heart Home Care Service Area

Full Heart Home Care is licensed in ten counties: Cherokee, Cobb, Coweta, Dekalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Paulding. We are based in Marietta, and our caregivers live all over the greater Atlanta area. Most of our clients currently reside in Cobb, Fulton and Dekalb counties.

While we understand that some individuals only need a few hours of care, our minimums are currently 6 hours per shift and 18 hours per week. Because of the current labor market dynamics, caregivers tend to have their choice of assignments. The best and most reliable caregivers often prefer longer shifts, so we have adapted our policy to ensure we can provide clients with the best possible care. Any visits lasting fewer than 6 hours will be billed for the full minimum length.

No, clients do not sign any type of binding agreement and can make changes or cancel services at any time.

We will do our best to accommodate your needs and schedule changes as quickly as possible, but more notice is always appreciated. In the event of same-day (within 24 hours) cancellations, we do charge clients and compensate caregivers for half of the scheduled hours. Otherwise, there are no commitments or cancellation fees.

“Full Heart” is an expression of our promise to provide the absolute best care imaginable – we care for clients with our full hearts, focusing our every effort on enhancing lives through compassionate care. “Full” also comes from our Owner & CEO’s last name, Fuller. Finally, “heart” has been at the forefront of Andrea’s life since suddenly developing congestive heart failure in 2009 and subsequently receiving the life-saving gift of a healthy new heart in 2010.

Questions About Our Caregivers

Employees providing Personal Care are Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), which means they have participated in an accredited training program and have passed the state competency exam. CNA programs include training on vital signs, physiological changes that are part of the normal aging process versus symptoms that are not, infection control precautions, caring for people with common diseases and conditions, how to assist clients with activities of daily living and more.

All Full Heart Home Care employees are required to participate in our ongoing training program through a leading training partner that specializes in non-medical home care. This program provides training modules on a variety of home care topics and tasks, as well as in-depth training on certain medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease and other types of dementia, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions, cardiovascular diseases, COPD and more.

We go above and beyond standard background checks to ensure we only select the most trustworthy caregivers to represent Full Heart Home Care.

First, our Owner & CEO interviews every candidate and personally calls references for every individual we hire. Second, we leverage a company called Checkr to perform the most extensive background checks allowable by law. While some agencies opt for less expensive background checks that are limited in scope, ours include data from every county in which an applicant has lived for the past 7 years, as well as a full driving record report from the DMV. Finally, we periodically administer unannounced drug testing to ensure our caregivers are adhering to our clean living policy.

In addition to our selective hiring process, we are fully licensed and insured for your protection.

We want to provide you with the best home care experience – period.

We expect all of our caregivers to work well with any client, but of course we understand that sometimes personalities don’t match. You are welcome to request a change at any time for any reason, and we will keep working with you until you are completely satisfied.

Our goal is to match clients with a single caregiver to work all shifts, but this is not always possible. With advance notice and a consistent service schedule, we can normally assign one caregiver to a given client. In some cases, we need to rotate a couple of caregivers at first, until a long-term match is identified. In any case, we will work to provide a smooth and consistent experience for you and your family and will communicate with you about any staffing concerns or changes.

Questions About Specific Conditions and Services

We do not provide the same services as a hospice provider, but we often care for clients who are also under the care of a hospice team.

While hospice companies employ healthcare providers to perform medical oversight, provide nursing care and prescribe medications, Full Heart Home care provides the personal and companion care that is often also required in these palliative care and end-of-life situations. We’ll be happy to recommend a hospice provider for you and/or work with your preferred company to provide seamless care for your loved one.

Yes, we do serve clients who live in these types of facilities. While assisted living facilities can provide a great deal of general oversight and address most of their residents’ needs, sometimes individuals need a little extra help. Your loved one might temporarily need overnight care or 24-hour monitoring following a hospital stay or just a companion and transportation for a weekly outing. No matter how great or small the need, Full Heart Home Care is here to help.

Yes, our team has extensive experience caring for individuals with dementia, and caregivers assigned to affected clients receive specialized training on the topic.

If your loved one has mild cognitive impairment, we will bring puzzles and other engaging activities to stimulate his or her brain. For clients in the more advanced stages of dementia, our caregivers will strive to optimize their quality of life while ensuring their safety and comfort.