Having a stranger come to your house to take care of you or your loved is scary. You don’t know anything about the caregiver who is coming through your door! 1776 recognizes this fear and the anxiety it can cause. That is why we have an extensive hiring process before a caregiver takes their first shift.

Caregiver Screening

Any new applicant for a caregiving position is screened by our experienced care managers several times. The initial screening happens during a phone call. We ask the caregiver some questions about their experience and why they want to be a caregiver. If we feel like they are a good candidate, we ask them to come to an in-person interview.

A potential caregiver is further screened during the interview. Beyond the answers to our standard questions, we try and have a conversation to see how they respond. Since companionship is important, we know conversational ability is key to the success of a caregiver. We also want to make sure the caregiver is passionate about helping—we don’t want caregivers who are just looking for a temporary job. We value caregivers who want to start careers!

The final screening occurs during our orientation. The caregivers are in our office for several hours learning about personal care, company requirements, and professionalism as a caregiver. We want to make sure they are engaged during this process. Caregivers who seem disinterested or do not participate are not asked to join our CARE TEAM.

We take caregiving seriously. Only A+ players can become a 1776 caregiver.

Background Check

The State of Illinois requires all healthcare workers to be registered in the Illinois Department of Public Health “Healthcare Worker Registry.” To be in the registry a caregiver must complete a background check. These checks are run by the Illinois State Police. Anyone with a criminal record will not be allowed to enter the registry and will not be able to work.

Drug Test

1776 Senior Care is one of the few agencies that requires all caregivers to pass a drug test. These tests are given during the orientation process. Any applicant that does not pass will not be allowed to become a caregiver.

Training

Caregivers are required to complete eight hours of training before they can start working with 1776 Senior Care. To maintain their caregiver certification, they must complete on-going training each year. 1776 employs a mix of online and in-person training to make sure our caregivers receive all required instruction. We also value extra training and offer several voluntary training sessions each year to help our caregivers become better for our clients.

Our training is not just about personal care and safe transfers. We make sure we provide training that will help our caregivers bring joy to our senior clients, whether it is food preparation or activities that seniors enjoy.