In-Home Care Help - how to find someone that actually cares?
TLDR: Tired of dealing with VA-approved "agencies" who provide the bottom of the barrel workers to care for my Dad. How to find someone professional and GOOD?
In short, my Dad (80M) is a veteran and needs some in-home care help in the Dayton, OH area. My mom provides some care, but they're both 80-years old, mild dementia, etc. So she gets respite care also. We worked through the VA and got an agency that has turned into a complete disaster. It feels like they're sending people who barely have any education, show up late, have no training, bad attitudes (imagine the type that get into fights at a walmart or McDonalds over their fries being too cold, that's who they're sending into my parents' home), etc. They get a DIFFERENT person every time (no consistency), not to mention they dress and speak very poorly (this factors into a situation where my parents are afraid to go to meetings or events with the caregivers because they don't represent themselves as professionals). In a couple instances, the in-home "caregivers" have flat out lied about what they did or cleaned or helped with, that was never actually done. One girl served time for "self defense" (lol!), another girl yelled at my Mom and walked out, etc. Endless problems.
Yes, we have voiced these concerns repeatedly with the agency, who keeps telling us Sorry, we'll fix it, won't happen again, we'll send better people, etc. It keeps happening.
Yes, I called the VA about it, they gave me names of three other agencies. But I have a sneaky suspicion that these agencies are ALL the same, hire all the same people, etc.
How can we find someone GOOD, professional, punctual, trained, honest, etc...?? Are their truly "private" retired nurses who do this sort of work, on their own, who are professional, trustworthy, and who actually care?
Posted Jan 14, 2026, 3:14 AM UTC