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Family, Home care

Key questions to ask when looking for a home health care company

When you realize you need caregiving support for yourself or a loved one, it can be a stressful time. Asking the right questions as you talk with service providers can help you get the answers you need to make the best decision for your unique circumstances. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions GEM receives on a regular basis along with the corresponding answers we provide.

How long has your company been in business?


GEM has been providing trusted, reliable home health care services for over thirty years. We are a family-owned business offering care services to individuals seeking personal support, nursing care (via RNs and RPNs) as well as home support and companionship. Our corporate motto, our family for yours, encapsulates our commitment to providing the best, most compassionate care possible. We are fully licensed and active, accredited members of the Canadian Home Care Association and Home Care Ontario.

How quickly are you able to arrange a caregiver placement?

Our experienced case managers will be able to quickly assess your needs via a telephone meeting or in-person visit, if necessary, before promptly matching you with a trained caregiver. Often this process can be completed within just a few days of your initial call to GEM.

How do you recruit staff?

We have numerous effective methods for recruiting reliable nursing professionals and personal caregivers including job fairs, focused advertising and more. All personnel are required to undergo a rigorous screening process and successfully complete a background check. Comprehensive on-the-job training is provided whenever necessary.

What are your processes for quality control and communication?

GEM has long-established, highly effective processes and quality control measures, including a robust case management system which facilitates monitoring the status of each client engagement. Any issues or concerns are communicated promptly to the client’s loved ones and proactive communication is undertaken regularly by GEM’s team as well. Our phones are staffed 24/7 so we can be reached at any time, should you have questions.

If the caregiver-client match proves incompatible, what happens next?

Our rigorous screening and matching process helps to ensure the best fit for each client’s care needs. However, in the very rare instances where it becomes necessary for us to find a new caregiver, we work quickly to place a new individual from among our large roster of care providers.

What services do you provide?

We provide a broad range of one-on-one home healthcare and personal support services in a variety of locations including clients’ private homes, retirement homes and institutional settings. Our clients range from infants to the very elderly. We also offer nursing care in the same locations. Our professional companion services are available to improve clients’ overall well-being, decrease feelings of isolation, and accompany them to appointments if needed. Please visit the services section of our website for more information or contact us for details.

What is the minimum shift length for your care workers?

Typically, shifts are at least four hours in length, to allow sufficient time for the worker to complete their tasks while providing companionship and conversation as well as relaying any issues or concerns to the individual’s family and our case management team. Depending upon the circumstances, shorter shifts may be possible (for example, if providing respite care to supplement government-provided services).

Do you provide live-in caregivers?

GEM does not provide live-in caregivers for several reasons, the most significant being that there are labour laws which govern workweek length. Weekend coverage is also an issue. Instead, we find that providing quality workers in shifts of up to 12 hours in length offers our clients superior care without the need of a live-in worker.

Does your company have experience with clients who have specific needs, such as dementia or mobility issues?

Yes, GEM has extensive experience dealing with clients of all ages who have special needs. From accident or surgery-induced mobility problems to genetic conditions, illness or age-related mobility issues, dementia and more, we have seen it all and can easily develop the most appropriate care plan for each client.

Health Care worker with senior patient and family
Family, Home care

Collaborative Approach A Key Differentiator For GEM

The concept of collaborative health care is garnering much attention and for good reasons. This team-based approach involves multiple healthcare professionals, patients, and families working together to deliver the highest quality care. Having various experts share their knowledge and insights to develop individualized treatment plans not only enhances the patient experience; it also improves health care system efficiency and optimizes patient outcomes.


GEM has long recognized that a similarly collaborative approach to home health care offers the best results. “We are firm advocates for identifying shared goals, sharing decision-making and drafting a care plan that ensures key needs are consistently met in a timely fashion,” says the company’s founder and CEO, Gaye Moffett. “This approach enables the person receiving care, their family members and the care providers to be on the same page and ensure the client’s best interests are always at the forefront.”


Collaborative care is equally important whether the client is living independently at home, receiving periodic assistance in a semi-autonomous setting such as a retirement home, or requiring more intensive support in a long-term care facility.


“Regardless of the setting or the needs of the individual, we always offer a personal approach and this has been key to both client satisfaction and our company’s longstanding success,” adds Gaye. “We have a thorough intake process to determine exactly what each client’s needs are, through home visits and telephone assessments. Similarly rigorous is the care we take in our approach to hiring and then matching our staff to clients; this is a key part of ensuring the highly individualized care plans we have created are executed successfully. Each person has unique requirements and we have been in business long enough to be experts at this assessment and matching process.”


Collaborative care is certainly nothing new to GEM; the company has utilized this approach for over 30 years and it has always been a hallmark of their professionalism. “Over 80% of our new business comes from word-of-mouth referrals, from satisfied clients or their families,” notes Gaye.


Open communication and effective care coordination are key components of GEM’s collaborative approach. “Whenever questions or issues arise, clients and families, as well as our staff members, know they can liaise 24/7 with our administrative coordinators can then draw in other individuals, such as our nursing supervisor, as needed. These coordinators are experts at getting expedited responses to ensure swift resolution,” explains Gaye. She emphasizes that GEM’s approach enhances client well-being as there is a consistency of care with the same hand-picked small team of staff attending regularly. “We know that when a health care service provider is not functioning like a well-oiled machine, there can be breakdowns in communication. There can be a lot of frustration when a client must explain their needs to a new person each day, so we work tirelessly to avoid that. We also ensure that issues are dealt with promptly and effectively by our front-line staff so clients’ health and dignity are maintained. Our approach has been proven to help people live safely in their homes for longer and we are very proud of that.”

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Advocacy, Aging in place, Family, Home care, Legislation

Why helping families pay for home care makes sense

For seniors, aging-in-place at home is the most comfortable, safe, and affordable option.

That’s why Gaye Moffett is on the board of Home Care Ontario, to work closely with other home care advocates to keep their work top of mind with every level of government.

Here’s what they’re working on right now to get families more support:

Home care co-payments and tax credits

Right now, anyone admitted to a long-term care facility only pays part of the cost. The government subsidizes the rest. 

As an alternative to moving people to a long-term care facility,  Gaye is advocating for a co-pay option to support clients at home. It’s a good investment for the government to make. With less overhead, providing care at home is more cost-effective than at a facility.

Other government incentives are also on the table, such as enhancing tax credits like the Ontario Seniors Care at Home (OSCAH) tax credit, and exempting family-funded care from sales taxes like the HST.

Raising the reputation, visibility and awareness of family-funded home care

One of the biggest challenges home care providers face is the invisibility of the work they do.

When you drive past a hospital or long-term care facility, you know there are people being cared for within those walls. It’s easy to forget that care is also being provided in people’s private homes.

Gaye and her colleagues are raising awareness by advocating for accreditation for family-funded care providers, agency licensing, an authority to over see allied health, and stronger enforcement of labour standards in the grey market to protect people from unlicensed ‘caregivers’ advertising their services on Kijiji.

Contributing to health system transformation

With health system transformation underway due to the pandemic, Gaye wants people to know how family-funded care providers are contributing to those efforts.

That’s why they’re sending educational materials to Ontario Health Teams (OHTs) about their work. 

They’re also engaging the OHTs directly to explain why enhancing home care services is a better option than creating ‘add-on’ services via retirement homes, which come with overhead costs similar to long-term care facilities.

For Gaye and her fellow advocates, investing in home care just makes sense.

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Aging in place, Family, Home care, Long term care

How to talk to your family about future planning

“The only way I’m leaving my home is in a pine box,” is what people often say when the topic of future planning is broached, no matter how sensitively or carefully.

Gaye Moffet’s response to that comment is, “Okay. Let’s plan for that.” 

Because the only way to truly safeguard our autonomy and independence as we age-in-place is to have a plan.

Fortunately there are tools we can use to make sure we’re taken care of the way we want. That said, it’s not an easy topic to broach with your family over dinner. 

Here are a few tips to be proactive when it’s time to start this difficult conversation.

Keep it practical: start with low hanging fruit

Before delving into any conversations about home care or long-term care, start by encouraging or helping your loved one choose their Powers of Attorney, including a Power of Attorney for Personal Care and a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property.

Designating a trusted person who will respect your wishes if you’re unable to make them yourself is the best way to prevent the government from stepping in and taking over. 

Inviting your loved ones to talk about Powers of Attorney can also open the door to completing other documents, like advance directives and a will.

What’s critical is keeping your loved one’s wishes at the heart of the conversation and emphasizing that writing them down will make it easier for someone else to know and respect what they want. 

Respond quickly during crucial moments

Often the first big loss of autonomy and independence comes when a doctor has to suspend a patient’s driver’s licence for safety reasons.

It’s a big blow, but it could be a chance for the family to come together to make sure their loved one will get what they need and stay engaged with the community.

It can also be the catalyst to talk about downsizing and moving closer to family, or possible to an easy-to-manage residence with the amenities they need.

And if the rest of your family isn’t engaged in future planning yet, moments like this can be a good time to pull them in so everyone is thinking about how they can help. 

Getting everyone involved will prevent caregiver burnout and possibly another crisis where your loved one’s choices are suddenly limited.

Continuing to emphasize that your loved one’s autonomy and independence is what’s most important. 

Connect and engage by listening first

While broaching the right topic at the right time is a good start, it can still be easy for emotions to get high. 

Gaye’s advice applies here as well: let’s plan for that.

Don’t forget that these are tough topics. The future we’re discussing is one where someone we love can’t live independently or worse, is no longer with us. Who wouldn’t get emotional? 

When feeling run high, we bring our own personality and ways of coping into the mix, whether it’s responding with anger, sadness, grief, or denial. These are just normal reactions to difficult situations, so don’t judge yourself or anyone else for how they’re reacting. 

Just know yourself and prepare, because what happens when we’re not grounded isn’t always pretty. We’re all capable of being patronizing, irritated, manipulative or dramatic. And it could lead us to call in reinforcements and make our loved one feel like we’re ganging up on them.

All that can be prevented by simply listening. 

Start by asking your loved one questions about what they want, then listen carefully and repeat back what was said so they know they’ve been heard before you weigh in with your own thoughts, opinions and needs. They’re important too, but your loved one needs to know they’re the one who’s in charge of what’s going to happen. You can show that by listening.

Other ways to keep the conversation constructive are:

  • using other people’s situation as an example
  • providing print materials so they have something to refer to while reflecting
  • writing down your concerns if having a conversation isn’t working
  • offering to help with research into their options
  • avoiding words like ‘a home’ or ‘nursing home’

Remember to ask for help if you need it

If you’ve tried everything and feel like you’ve hit a wall, it could be time to bring in a third-party expert who your loved one will trust to be neutral and provide straightforward, helpful information.

Gaye Moffett has been advising families with care planning for decades and has likely heard a story similar to yours.

You can get in touch with Gaye by calling 613-761-7474 in Ottawa or in 905-836-6999 in GTA.