Center connects clients, caregivers

Providers, clients to find one another

MOSES LAKE — A new referral center in Moses Lake is prepared to connect clients with in-home health care providers servicing the area.

The Referral and Workforce Resource Center, operating out of Big Bend Community College, pre-screens providers with the Department of Social and Health Services and matches providers with clients for free.

"I'm like a 'matchmaker.com' for in-home health care providers," said Suci Wise, who helps operate the local center, one of several new locations across the state. The King and Pierce county locations are currently "swamped," Wise said.

Unless they know a family member who provides health-care services, clients typically go through an agency to find a provider. This service would allow a client to find qualified providers based on a customized search taking into consideration available hours, services provided and the type of client a provider is looking for.

One of the providers who contacted Wise loves cooking for people with diabetes. Through this service, the provider could find a diabetic client looking for someone to cook for them. The most common reasons providers contact the service is to find additional clients and additional hours of work.

Wise said the center in Moses Lake now has a sufficient database of providers to begin matching names and phone numbers with clients. It is up to the client to conduct interviews to find the best provider for them.

"It gives the clients quite a bit of power in who comes into their home and works for them," Suci said. The center also provides resources for clients who have never interviewed before, so they know what types of questions to ask. The service could reduce the number of providers a client employs because clients interview before they hire, she said. Most agencies, as far as Wise knows, do not conduct interviews with clients and providers beforehand.

According to a recent press release from the Home Care Quality Authority of Washington, other states are looking toward Washington's referral service as a model, including Michigan and Oregon. Michigan has already adapted Washington's registry for its own use.