how to locate reputable agencies as a new LPN?

Specialties Home Health

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Just wondering what you all think is the best way to find reputable home health agencies to work for as a new LPN. I was thrilled several weeks ago to have been offered some home health work because realistically this is the "first bite" I've gotten as a newer grad (graduated about 9 months ago). But the more I interact with this agency the more I'm noticing red flags - no training is provided, no orientation minus how to enter notes, being offered multiple jobs before my drug screening has been completed, being given a badge the first day I applied, all nurses there are new grads, and several other signs of general shadiness.

That being said, I am going to do one day's worth of work tomorrow and then let the agency know that I am unavailable for the next few weeks (I want to see whether or not I get paid for my day tomorrow as I haven't "recorded my voice" through medicaid and didn't even know about this until a patient's mother explained the process).

SO how do you know whether an agency is reputable? Home health in itself is not unappealing to me; I can do it with the proper training and orientation to each case. But where does one find agencies that offer hands-on experience, aren't medicare scams, and provide an honest day's pay for an honest day's work?

I'm located in Miami, FL so if anyone has first-hand experience and recommendations, that is greatly appreciated. Keep in mind it would have to be a place that accepts new grads with limited experience (minus my g-tube infant case that I'll be working on this weekend).

Thanks as always,

Heather

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I was told by a nursing instructor in school that "No reputable Home Health Agency would hire a nurse who did not have at least one year's nursing experience". The reason is, you do not know what normal is. You do not know how to recognize when a s/s is a chronic issue versus something critical that must be addressed. Any company who would hire a new nurse with no experience is not putting the patient's interests first - and neither is the new nurse. I know it is hard to find experience but do you really want to endanger your patients?

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I appreciate the reply but can't say I agree only because, if every place felt the same, then there would be no place for new nurses. I can respect how much more sensitive home health nursing is and why a new nurse shouldn't do it alone - in fact this is why I am not staying with te current agency - but feel like a newer graduate nurse could easily be oriented to the position IF the agency was willing to let one shadow and pay for orientation.

There's agencies out there that do that! I keep reading posts about them although unfortunately they're most definitely the exception and not the norm :/

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Most of those agencies that hire new grads are private duty (shift work) rather than traditional intermittent visits with treatments and education of a traditional home health agency. The infant g-tube case is really a private duty case not traditional home health. Many states mandate a minimum of one year acute care experience before a nurse can be hired in a traditional skilled nursing home health position that does short term intermittent visits.

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Specializes in Nurse Consultation.

Research the state licensure surveys for facilities within the area you are looking at as prospective employers.

Each state survey becomes available via public record after the survey responses are submitted by the facility to the state. Facilities are required to share them upon request or have them posted in a easily accessible location (facility lobby/library) for easy access by interested parties.

So the question is- What is the agency that posts the surveys on-line?

You can ask the state where to look if you do not want to ask the facility. Then you review the survey(s) and draw objective conclusions about the facility by categories that are addressed and the documented plan of correction responses.

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I disagree with awheat. When a home health company hires a newly licensed nurse they accept the responsibility to train them, the same way any facility or hospital does. What you want to do is ask about the training. How long will they let you do ride alongs? Will you start with chronic vs acute patients? I think it's old school to say you must have experience first and then shrug your shoulders when asked how to obtain it. It keeps the notion alive that nurses eat their young.

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Most of those agencies that hire new grads are private duty (shift work) rather than traditional intermittent visits with treatments and education of a traditional home health agency. The infant g-tube case is really a private duty case not traditional home health. Many states mandate a minimum of one year acute care experience before a nurse can be hired in a traditional skilled nursing home health position that does short term intermittent visits.

Maybe this is true in certain areas. Thankfully it isn't true in Utah. Also there isn't a mandated one year rule here either.

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Specializes in Oncology, Med-Surg.
red flags - no training is provided, no orientation minus how to enter notes, being offered multiple jobs before my drug screening has been completed, being given a badge the first day I applied, all nurses there are new grads, and several other signs of general shadiness
.

Yes these are red flags. It sounds like you have good instincts about what is a reputable agency.

This was a good thread on herehttps://allnurses.com/home-health-nursing/do-i-want-826318.html

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Justbeachy, this agency calls themselves home health but they seem to have a mix of cases (all Medicare from what I saw) with some long term and some visits. I don't know what that means. Dragon heart I've never heard of state surveys - not surprising, haven't heard of many things yet :) but that's a good idea. Ill know for future to look them up or ask about them in advance. Good insight into what others think! St Claire I absolutely agree that it's the agency's responsibility to train and orient if they're going to hire. I can tell you without a doubt that if I'd had a full day's orientation with each patient and someone on call for emergency situations I would have felt fine with the situation. But putting a new grad who's had limited clinical exposure and doesn't have the evaluation skills developed yet is irresponsible on the agency's part and certainly would have been irresponsible on my part to have accepted the role.

Salvador dolly, that's a good thread - thanks for pointing it out to me. I can also see the value of using many of those questions in an interview setting!

Always grateful,

Heather

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Long term usually refers to shift work private duty. Agency is still called home health. An example of a major agency that does both is Bayada. I believe Interim health does both but also facility staffing. Other larger agencies that may do both are Loving Carr/Links2Care and Maxim.

There are also small agencies and hospital based. (Most hospital based agencies require a year or more clinical experience as the patients are usually fresh discharges from inpatient or subacute. The hospital agencies in my area require RNs with min 1 year, prefer 2-3 years acute inpatient experience. LPN minimum 1 year but most hired have 3-5 years subacute/LTC experience.

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Heather, if you're in the Miami area, you might want to look up CSI Catalano's Nursing Agency. I worked for them for about 3 years, after getting my CNA... They pay decently, and if you're persistent, you can get some good help from the RNs and and managers that work there. There are a few issues, as with any place of employment, but overall I had a good experience with them... Note: I'm up in Tampa, FLA and they have cases that span all of FL.. their main office is in Miami, so I never had contact with them. It might be different down there, but up here I had a really good experience.

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Visiting Nurse Associations of America: VNAA.org has some of the oldest most established agencies that are non-profit.

Medicare Home Health Compare Compare Medicare-certified home health agencies and the quality of care provided to patients in the country.

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