Horrible communication from Stephanie & the office. Lack of caregiving staff with zero solution for my loved one.

I hired Assisting Hands last month to care for my mother who has Parkinson's Disease / Parkinson's Dementia and lives with me full time. They were to care for her 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. The first couple of weeks went very well. I have to shout out to one particular caregiver. Mercy is a lovely, bright soul and a fabulous caregiver. She was kind and loving, very professional and respectful of the structure that I have set up for my mother. We hit the jackpot and mother adored her! I had a few significant issues with 2 of the other caregivers that they sent over. After a bad experience with one that resulted in her leaving the company and the need to file a police report, per Stephanie, I felt comfortable that they took appropriate steps and handled it in a responsible manner. I was more than comfortable to continue using them. Fast forward about 1 week and I can't believe how things have changed. Although the company raved about the new caregiver that they were sending me (apparently one of their best) I had some initial concerns when I first met her. First, she seemed like a lovely person and was very open and shared many of her personal issues with me. She was dealing with personal health concerns; self-medicating techniques to help with side effects of her illness. She went outside to vape quite a bit. I pushed my initial concerns aside because of all the wonderful things I was told about her skills and compassion. I do want to mention she was compassionate and seemed like a sweet person with good intentions, but in the 2 days that she was caring for my mother she was late both days and asked me to come home early both days so that she could get ready for her other job. Every time I called to see how mom was doing, she often had her lying in bed to keep her safe and to "stretch". Nobody else has a problem keeping my mother safe and she certainly had instruction to only use the bed for 1 afternoon nap and bed time. Her activities and her schedule are important to her overall health and well-being. This caregiver spent a lot of her time outside vaping, making personal phone calls, listening to podcasts and in the bathroom getting ready for her other job. When she learned that I had a friend coming to spend the night with my mom to give me a much-needed break, she told me she prefers to work nights and is available if I needed her. I did have an extreme amount of compassion for her, so I battled calling the company, but had to put my Mom's needs first and decided I needed to call the company. When I called, I tried to protect her and simply requested another caregiver but I did not want to cause any trouble for her as I knew she was going through a lot. I spoke to Sonia and just wanted her to know I felt she was not a fit for my mom since my mom had very high needs. Sonia seemed understanding, but soon after I received a call from Stephanie. I was treated with extreme disrespect and was accused of trying to poach their caregivers and accused of crossing boundaries. That was untrue, but of course I am sure the "caregiver" was trying to cover her ass and said whatever she needed to. Anyone who knows me knows I have high morals and am very ethical. To be fair I will admit the first caregiver who they sent to me asked me straight out for gas money because she needed it until she got paid and I did give it to her. I feel that was something that should have never been asked of me, but I really had a hard time saying no especially when the caregiver was in front of me. It was very uncomfortable and a position I should have not been put in. I know that I should have said no. To conclude, I was told that they would no longer be able to care for my mother and we would have to make other arrangements starting the following day and forward. No notice and no conversation. The decision was made and she treated me as if I had done something wrong. I am a business owner and a professional so I really know how to act and behave and I most definitely did not act in an unprofessional way. I am incredibly disappointed and disgusted with the way I've been treated and how the company that I chose to have care for mom was willing to leave her high and dry and walk away rather than to act in a professional manner. I know I was extremely professional and expected the same in return. read more

I hired Assisting Hands last month to care for my mother who has Parkinson's Disease / Parkinson's Dementia and lives with me full time. They were to care for her 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. The first couple of weeks went very well. I have to shout out to one particular caregiver. Mercy is a lovely, bright soul and a fabulous caregiver. She was kind and loving, very professional and respectful of the structure that I have set up for my mother. We hit the jackpot and mother adored her! I had a few significant issues with 2 of the other caregivers that they sent over. After a bad experience with one that resulted in her leaving the company and the need to file a police report, per Stephanie, I felt comfortable that they took appropriate steps and handled it in a responsible manner. I was more than comfortable to continue using them. Fast forward about 1 week and I can't believe how things have changed. Although the company raved about the new caregiver that they were sending me (apparently one of their best) I had some initial concerns when I first met her. First, she seemed like a lovely person and was very open and shared many of her personal issues with me. She was dealing with personal health concerns; self-medicating techniques to help with side effects of her illness. She went outside to vape quite a bit. I pushed my initial concerns aside because of all the wonderful things I was told about her skills and compassion. I do want to mention she was compassionate and seemed like a sweet person with good intentions, but in the 2 days that she was caring for my mother she was late both days and asked me to come home early both days so that she could get ready for her other job. Every time I called to see how mom was doing, she often had her lying in bed to keep her safe and to "stretch". Nobody else has a problem keeping my mother safe and she certainly had instruction to only use the bed for 1 afternoon nap and bed time. Her activities and her schedule are important to her overall health and well-being. This caregiver spent a lot of her time outside vaping, making personal phone calls, listening to podcasts and in the bathroom getting ready for her other job. When she learned that I had a friend coming to spend the night with my mom to give me a much-needed break, she told me she prefers to work nights and is available if I needed her. I did have an extreme amount of compassion for her, so I battled calling the company, but had to put my Mom's needs first and decided I needed to call the company. When I called, I tried to protect her and simply requested another caregiver but I did not want to cause any trouble for her as I knew she was going through a lot. I spoke to Sonia and just wanted her to know I felt she was not a fit for my mom since my mom had very high needs. Sonia seemed understanding, but soon after I received a call from Stephanie. I was treated with extreme disrespect and was accused of trying to poach their caregivers and accused of crossing boundaries. That was untrue, but of course I am sure the "caregiver" was trying to cover her ass and said whatever she needed to. Anyone who knows me knows I have high morals and am very ethical. To be fair I will admit the first caregiver who they sent to me asked me straight out for gas money because she needed it until she got paid and I did give it to her. I feel that was something that should have never been asked of me, but I really had a hard time saying no especially when the caregiver was in front of me. It was very uncomfortable and a position I should have not been put in. I know that I should have said no. To conclude, I was told that they would no longer be able to care for my mother and we would have to make other arrangements starting the following day and forward. No notice and no conversation. The decision was made and she treated me as if I had done something wrong. I am a business owner and a professional so I really know how to act and behave and I most definitely did not act in an unprofessional way. I am incredibly disappointed and disgusted with the way I've been treated and how the company that I chose to have care for mom was willing to leave her high and dry and walk away rather than to act in a professional manner. I know I was extremely professional and expected the same in return. read more