A shift that is slightly short does not announce itself. The caregiver arrives a little late, the parent is settled, and the visit ends a little early. Each one seems minor. Over a month, the gap can equal a full shift you are paying for or a set of tasks that never get done. This guide shows you how to count the gap and decide when to act.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Step 1: Record scheduled and actual times

  1. For each visit, write the scheduled start and stop.
  2. Write the actual start and stop, using the provider's sign-in record if there is one, or a notebook kept in the home if there is not.
  3. Do this for every visit in the week, including the short ones that seem fine.

Write-in grid: Date line ________ Scheduled ______ to ______ Actual ______ to ______ Minutes short ____.

Step 2: Total the gap each week

Add the minutes short for each visit and write the weekly total. A single short visit is noise. A weekly total that is the same or higher each week is a signal.

Step 3: Set the threshold in advance

Decide the number of minutes short per week that will trigger a conversation with the provider. Write it down: We raise it when the weekly total reaches ______ minutes. Setting this before the problem starts keeps you from explaining away a pattern one visit at a time.

Step 4: Ask for the reason in writing

When the threshold is reached, ask the provider to explain the shortfall in writing. Listen for a specific cause: a traffic problem on a named day, a prior visit that ran long, or a one-time illness. Be cautious when the cause is vague or changes each week. A pattern with no clear cause needs to be fixed in the schedule, not talked away.

Step 5: Check whether the tasks or the time changed

If the visits are shorter but the written tasks are the same, the list may be bigger than the time allows. Compare the tasks on the written plan with the time each one takes. If the tasks cannot be done in the time booked, the answer is a change to the plan or the hours, not a quiet trimming of the work.

Walk-away signs

  • The provider bills for the full shift while the visit ends early.
  • The explanation changes from week to week.
  • Short visits continue after you raised the problem in writing.

For the method behind these sheets and how this desk checks what it writes, see How We Write the Sheets.