Home Health Care News: The Evolution Of Caregiver-Client Matching In Home Care

Griswold , the non-medical home care franchise with over 170 units, understands that matching caregivers and clients is critical to a successful care plan. As a recent article in Home Health Care News points out, this match-making process has never been more significant, especially following the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As far as recruitment and retention, things that are critical that come to mind for most people is the steadiness of the work, geography and factors similar to those,” Griswold CEO Michael Slupecki told Home Health Care News. “But that client match piece is really, really critical as well.”

Caregiver-client matching involves pairing a caregiver with a client based on the client's unique needs and preferences. The relationship also emphasizes building trust and comfort between the caregiver, the client and the client's family, which leads to improved care outcomes.

Before the pandemic, there was already a perceived shortage of caregivers, but during the crisis, the primary concern of clients shifted.

“It’s changed so much from pre-pandemic when we thought we had a caregiver shortage,” Slupecki said. “Then, during COVID, the only question clients would ask would be vaccinated or unvaccinated. That was the only thing clients were asking about. Then, at the caregiver crisis peak, matching was an afterthought, and all our focus and energy was on how to get a bigger pipeline of new caregivers, and how to stop saying no to client referrals.”

Consistency in caregiving, as research suggests, yields better results. Clients with multiple caregivers in short periods risk higher care volatility, such as increased hospital readmissions. Moreover, a frequently changing caregiver can't provide insight into a client's progression or changes in behavior.

“We have the ability to really impact rehospitalizations, and, in order to do that, we need to make sure we're matching caregivers that have that desire, that aptitude, that really want to be part of that solution,” Slupecki said. “We know happy caregivers and good matches are going to result in retention, and probably going to result in lower rehospitalizations.”