Elder Voice Advocates just reported that a caregiver here took nearly $3000 from one of their…read moreclients. This happened to my parent under their care, too. Avoid this place!!!

I appreciate all the hard work that everyone at Home Instead provided to make Del as comfortable as…read morepossible. I know that there were some times that were more challenging and thanks for being there for us. I sure miss the nice ladies that would come and help. Del was so sick for a long time and now he is in a better place where he can breathe and walk. Thanks to all of you, Sincerely Connie

I contacted this location to check out pricing and was quoted $30 per hour. They set up a meeting…read morewith my mother and I. At that time they went through and collected all the information about my mother and her needs. My mother suffers from dementia and I needed to find help. I was in a panic on how to help her stay living where she was. We talked about the needs for consistent people, care, hours and a routine assessment that's what's important for people suffering from dementia. She was supposed to bring me a contract and didn't. They said nothing additional about any charges. Since this was my first experience with this situation, I was relying on the details to be discussed by them. My daughter and I were both understanding the charge for her care would be $30 per hour. The first weekend they sent a very young girl to care for my mother. I met her there and she had no idea of the care plan they told me they provide to the care givers. I spent quite a bit of time going over everything. The girl smelled very strongly of smoke, which was not good for my mom. She was not the right person for my mother. She was calling me with questions about how to care for my mother. The next weekend they sent a different person again. I was called at least 8 times during her care to answer questions. They did send a contract by email to me which I couldn't read. The pages weren't full pages, and I didn't spend a ton of time trying to piece together an unreadable email. I did sign it though. From that signature, they stated I agreed to pay all these additional charges for my mothers care. 4 nine hour shifts were over $1300. When you have an informational meeting, charges need to be discussed. You should have a hard copy right in front of you to go over all the unexpected charges. At that time you would find out that the amount they quoted was just a starting figure, which they never stated. I would be very careful of this company. When you are caring for an elderly mother its a very stressful time. I was taking care of her for over 5 years be myself. Just make sure you ask the questions they do not tell you. Apparently, they do not find it necessary to provide you with any information unless you ask.

From the owner: Visiting Angels East Metro is proud to be a part of the nationwide network of Visiting Angels…read morefranchised home care agencies. Our Angels provide essential personal home care services including in-home care, dementia care, respite care, senior personal care, elderly care, and companion care services. With our assistance, seniors can continue to live independently in their own homes. Our philosophy is to provide the best possible one-on-one care while giving total respect to our caregiving staff. At Visiting Angels East Metro, we provide the very best support, so our elderly clients receive top quality care wherever the need exists. This is why Visiting Angels is East Metro's choice for homecare.

They are so gentle and caring. A good amount of nurses took the time to answer our questions and…read moresoothe our worries. The rooms are immaculate and we felt as comfortable as possible.

My wife received home care services from Our Lady of Peace. The nurses and the physical therapists…read morewere so kind and professional. They helped us through a very difficult time. We feel very blessed to have had their care.

Really, Visiting Angels?…read more Perhaps your name should be "Visiting Corporation Seeking Maximum Profit" When we decided to have an elderly parent move in with us we thought hiring this agency (a franchise) might be a good option. There is a great need for good caregiving services for our elderly and if you are fortunate to have the resources for in-home care you are among the lucky ones. But, as we unfortunately found out, the fancy brochure you get from Visiting Angels has little to do with what happens when you actually hire this outfit. In our case, the promise of "Visiting Angels" was no more than words printed on a page. While the needs for our father were basic, the cost of services provided were not - you pay a premium ($30+/hour) for in-home care, although this seemed lost with our "local Minnesota" franchise. They spent more time complaining about how the people who came into our house were feeling about their care (how the elderly client treated them), than showing concern about what they could do to provide better care for our father. To us, one of the obvious features of being old is that your loss of ability to function makes you at times cranky and stubborn - aspects of aging that would seem so obvious that we thought an agency specializing in elder care would not only be familiar with them, but also be used to training their caregivers to address. Instead, Visiting Angels treated our father's symptoms as if they were meant to be taken personally. However, since some caregivers were completely able to manage his needs without trouble, it was strange when others were sent who took it as a personal insult when it came to our father being cranky about putting on his socks or getting to his appointments. If one caregiver can handle the regular tasks and communication without trouble, why wouldn't the agency work to replicate this with other caregivers via simple training? At what point does paying over $30 hour for services (less than half of which goes to the caregiver) get transferred into training the caregiver vs. directed to the pockets of the owners? Well, the answer is that it stays in their pocket. So, when Visiting Angels told us at the last minute (we were were literally a few days from heading out of town) that there was no way they could cover the shifts already scheduled, we decided to pull the plug and transfer to another agency. At this point, the reality of the loss of a large income source brought out their real character, and Visiting Angels turned into a corporate attack dog. After multiple confirmations that, "we really, really meant it when we said we no longer want your service", Visiting Angels threatened one of the caregivers who wanted to continue working with our father at the new agency that they (the caregiver!) would be "fined" for going to another agency and continuing to work with him (indentured servitude much?). To make it even more clear what they really wanted ($) we were told they would only "release" her if we paid them $10,000. REALLY? When we failed to bend to this crude and outrageous extortion attempt and directed them to cease all further communication with us their response was that the "Visiting Angels corporate attorney" would be in touch. Thankfully, the story ends with justice, as where Visiting Angels feared to tread was where the laws of the United States are clear: remember all those HIPPA forms that doctors offices have you sign dealing with health care privacy? Well, it turns out they specify that it is illegal for information about your personal health care to be shared (including who is doing the care) with other people (including your former agency) without the express written permission of the person receiving the care. Only when the VA corporate attorney was made aware that we understood the law did they back off from their attempt at illegal extortion. From our experience, there is little doubt the "corporate values" of this Visiting Angels franchise are minuscule compared to their lust for profit. Clearly, a name change is in order. As the old line goes, we suggest you let your fingers do the walking. Your elder deserves better - and will find it - with another agency.

Tommy is an excellent owner who listens to people and fills a need in the Community. I highly…read morerecommend VisitingAngels as they truly care.

Our family has been very happy with Synergy Homecare (Roseville HQ, serving the TC area). We mainly…read moreuse it to schedule pick-ups for elders attending medical appointments. Communication has always been easy and efficient. Special shout-out to Robin whose kindness as a care-companion has been outstanding. Note that we are based in the Twin Cities (not San Francisco--the SF location reflects the fact that I'm leaving a review using my Google email, and Google's based in SF!).

I cannot say enough good things about Synergy. When my mom was declining at home and my dad…read morecouldn't do what needed to be done, the people from Synergy took care of her needs, from personal care to cooking to light housekeeping. Later when my dad was declining, I went back to Synergy and was able to get one of my mom's former caregivers to help with my dad. It was so important for him to have someone he trusted and liked. The owner, Jim Zenk is easy to work with and we found caregivers who were loving, gentle, trustworthy and consistent. I would recommend this company to anyone with a loved one who needs extra care.

If you have a loved one who is in need of assistance of ANY KIND, you'd be doing your loved one a…read moregreat disservice, choosing this company. They gave me the run around about getting a home maker to come to help me out and I had to endure two other companies that did the same thing to me.

From the owner: Life Fountain Home Health Care, Inc is a courteous group of highly trained St Paul, MN home care…read moreprofessionals ready and able to give your family the help you need. Please give us a call today.

My dad was in hospice with Fairview while at Aurora on France. They are simply amazing, and such a…read morecomforting, empathetic team of people. We absolutely loved Andrea and the rest of the team - they gave my dad the highest quality of care and were a crucial source of support for us during his last few weeks. It takes some incredibly special people to do what you do, and this team was the best of the best. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

Beware - do not hire this service for your loved one. This review would be no stars if possible. I…read morehired Comfort Keepers for my 93 year old mother who was coming home from a TCU. I met with two staff who assessed my mother at the TCU. I then met at my mother's home to assess the space. I had hired a care giver to care for my mother two four shifts (morning and afternoon). The first day my mother was home I received a call forty minutes past the scheduled time indicating the care giver wasn't there. Apparently he had lost his phone, gotten lost and they didn't know where he was and when he would arrive. In panic mode I called my sister who ran over to my mom't house. At this point the care giver had arrived and claimed he had been only 15 minutes late. Now I have a care giver who has not shown up on time and lied about his arrival. I had left instructions of care for my mother including making sure she had eaten breakfast (he did not) and making sure she took her morning meds (didn't do this either). Basically none of the instructions were followed or even looked at. When my sister came at noon she said all that was given to her was a piece of peanut butter toast. My mother was charged $46 an hour for this lack of care. I have no idea what went on because no notes were ever put in the system regarding this visit. The evening of this visit my mother was re-hospitalized (not sure how much the events of the morning had to do with this but she wasn't given her med/fluids or the care she needed). I requested a refund and the company has refused. They offered a free visit. I would never put my mother at risk with this company. Obviously this care giver had never cared for anyone or been trained. If you have a loved one who needs care DO NOT contact this company.

From the owner: Comfort Keepers caregivers travel to clients' homes to provide care services and living assistance…read more Our work allows seniors and disabled individuals to live independently and as comfortable as possible. With our expert caregivers in your loved one's home, you can rest assured knowing he or she is receiving the best care possible.

It is difficult to express adequately in words my appreciation, admiration, and LOVE for the entire…read morestaff at Amada Senior Care. My relationship with Amada began years ago when I was looking for care for an elderly aunt with chronic health challenges. My relationship however really blossomed when looking for care for my husband who was suffering from advanced dementia, eventually had a catheter, and I found myself in a position of no longer being able to leave our home to address my health care needs as well as keeping our household running with shopping for groceries and supplies. I first contacted Greg, the owner, to ask him to meet with me to set up a time to review our long term care policy through Thrivent and review services. Greg set up a time to meet with myself along with Jess who is the client coordinator for my area. During the meeting Greg and I phoned Thrivent and learned everything I needed to know about our long term care policy. I can't stress enough how he knew each and every question to ask which would not have occurred to me. Amada staff were essential to work with when I opened a claim with Thrivent. I learned things about the policy I didn't even know about. Dear Jes was such a gift to work with in coming out to our home, meeting my dear husband, and answering all questions I had about the services Amada could provide. When you are looking for care I found I had so many worries on my mind that Jess went through each of them and answered them. Kay, the director of nursing connected with me to review medications and she had the wisdom to suggest I circle back to providers for clarity on some of the recent changes happening. Joyce from the billing department was so helpful in regards to billing and answering questions about communicating with Thrivent. When it came to actually scheduling services Amanda and her team of Candace and others could not have been more kind, compassionate, and understanding when services needed to be added, changed, and navigated! I was able to look at my calendar a month out and schedule a team of three caregivers to care for my husband when I was not home. A testament to the quality of caregivers and their interview process that Amada takes to hire only top notch staff was seen with each provider that came into our home. Suda was a kind and compassionate caregiver who so gently addressed my husband's needs and taught me near the close of his life how to safely position and move him in bed. Lucrisha was a vibrant and energetic caring caregiver who at one time cleaned my refrigerator and I could not have been happier as when you are in the thick of caregiving for a spouse your housekeeping standards fall to the side! Lucrisha also was able to set limits with my husband when he asked her for unrealistic things (taking down an outdoor umbrella!!) that I would have never asked of a caregiver! Cheryl arrived to our home the last week of my husband's life and she brought years of experience in providing care for people living in nursing homes. She taught me some of the most essential skills I needed for the last weeks of his life. With each new caregiver to our home came Jess to orient them! This came in particularly useful when I arrived home with my husband I I could not walk him into our home without the assistance of all three of us. During the last weeks of my husband's life I stayed at home and had these kind and compassionate caregivers at my side. I can't stress how this was so essential to me as our adult children lived out of state and I had caregivers at my side during the same time period I engaged hospice services. Looking back it is clear to me that I waited way to long to engage Amada Senior Care into our home to support my husband and I. The burden of caregiving would have decreased if I had reached out earlier. I regret not engaging services months prior to his death. Amada Senior Care allows family to leave their home and know that their loved ones are cared for in the same, if not better ways, than you could provide yourself. Never will I regret this decision to engage Amada Senior Care! They made living and caring for my husband so much easier! If you are looking for care for a loved one and hesistated as I did please know that calling Amada will be one of the best decisions you will make in the life of your loved one. Carrie

From the owner: Amada Senior Care provides nurturing, compassionate in-home senior care and guides families through…read morethe many senior housing options available for assisted living. We also help seniors understand, file and manage long-term care insurance claims and can help veterans understand financial options for funding care. To learn more, visit www.AmadaSeniorCare.com.