Home Care for Elders - Harmony or Heartache?
By Patti Baskin Scholpp, Caring Solutions
Published in Longmeadow Neighbors | December 2025
Hello!
My name is Patti Baskin-Scholpp and I am the owner of Caring Solutions, a home care in Western Mass. I have been in this field for over 30 years in different capacities. I have multiple disciplines in nursing, business management, and accounting. Today, I would like to speak to the unspeakable in the world of home care.
I STRONGLY encourage my readers to watch I Care a Lot, available on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. It is a 2020 movie depicting seniors and what can and does happen. While the movie is fictional; the reality is all too real - and it’s not ideal for many of your loved ones.
Since 2016, there is no licensing in the state of Massachusetts for home care companies, which means that anyone can open a homecare agency. There is no oversight from the state, government, and/or medical field. Agencies can hire anyone they consider acceptable to do the job. All companies are supposed to run a criminal background check, but not all do. There have been instances of caregivers working in this field with frightening backgrounds, including felonies such as attempted murder, elder abuse, and grand larceny of an elder. Shocking? It is! Sadly, this is the reality for many seniors.
Home Care Alliance is an accrediting agency that does their best to help homecare agencies to adhere to a decorum of what licensing used to entail. Belonging to the HCA is optional and comes at a cost of $900-$3,600 - a small price to guarantee quality.
Home care agencies are popping up as often as cannabis outlets. Why and how do these two vastly different fields have the same growth potential? Profit and lack of oversight. You can belong to a franchise with a minimal deposit, and they supply you with brand recognition, a business model, access to financing, and marketing tools.
Because there are so many home care agencies, it has become survival mode with who can have the most patients and whatever cost. This field should not be “who has the most” wins, what should happen is that home care agencies work together to provide the best patient care to those of the vintage population. This ensures rules are followed and not corners cut. This should include transparency regarding caregivers. Home care agencies and the entire healthcare field are short staffed, so basically if you have a pulse… congratulations! You are hired!
Has anyone noticed the enormous sign on bonuses for the healthcare industry with less emphasis placed on the criteria required? Again, the unspoken but the reality - you don’t know what you’re getting in elder care.
Because of embarrassment, when illegal things happen to our vintage population, charges are often not filed. This happens with home care agencies as well as facilities. They do not want controversial issues that could affect their bottom line. More times than not there is a CORI behind them that would have shown the inevitable from happening.
Are you or a loved one seeking elder care? Caring Solutions is proud to be a part of the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts and the first call you should make when considering care. We hope to see you soon!
Caring Solutions, LLC
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