The people who come to your parent's door.
Every caregiver is our employee, checked before they're hired and trained before their first shift. Here's how we choose them and how we keep an eye on things.
About Hollyhock
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Employees, not contractors
We pay their wages, taxes and insurance. You are never anyone's employer.
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Checked before they're hired
Interview, references and criminal background checks, every time.
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Trained before the first shift
Paid orientation and a hands-on skills check come first.
How we hire
Six steps before anyone works with your parent. Many applicants don't make it through, and that's the point.
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Step 1: Application and phone screen
We ask why they want to do this work. Experience helps, but kindness and reliability come first.
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Step 2: In-person interview
A care manager meets every applicant face to face and talks through real situations from real visits.
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Step 3: Reference checks
We speak with past employers or supervisors, not just friends.
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Step 4: Criminal background check
State and national background checks before anyone is offered a job, repeated every two years.
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Step 5: Driving record check
For every caregiver who will drive clients, along with proof of insurance.
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Step 6: Paid training and a skills check
Orientation, safe-moving practice and a skills check before the first shift.
Training
What every caregiver learns first
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Safe moving and fall prevention
How to help someone stand, walk, use a walker and get in and out of the shower without hurting them or themselves.
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Dementia care
Every caregiver on a dementia team takes our dementia course: calm communication, routines and handling hard afternoons.
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First aid and CPR
Kept current, so caregivers know what to do and who to call if something happens during a visit.
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Dignity and privacy
Knocking before entering, asking before helping, and keeping what happens in the home private.
How we match
- Schedule and location first, so the same caregiver can keep coming
- Skills: dementia training, personal care experience, driving
- Language and culture, when it matters to your parent
- Personality: chatty or quiet, early bird or night owl
- Pets, smoking and anything else in the home
After care starts
- A care manager visit in the first two weeks
- Then a check-in visit every 60 days, or sooner if needs change
- A short visit note after every shift
- A backup caregiver who has read your parent's plan
- Change caregivers any time. No reason needed, no fee
Meet a few of our caregivers
Last names are shortened for their privacy. You'll meet your own caregiver before the first visit whenever we can arrange it.
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Mai Lee X.
Dementia care
With Hollyhock since 2017 · Hmong and English
"I keep the same order every day. Tea first, then the walk. It helps more than people think."
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Tomás R.
Personal and overnight care
With Hollyhock since 2019 · Spanish and English
"At 3 am the house is quiet. I'm awake, and they know they can call for me."
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Gloria B.
Companion care
With Hollyhock since 2015 · English
"Tuesdays we bake. Joan tells me I fold the dough wrong, and she's right."
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Aisha M.
Post-hospital care
With Hollyhock since 2021 · Somali and English
"The first week home is scary for everyone. I try to make it boring in a good way."
If the fit isn't right, tell us.
Sometimes two people just don't click. Call your care manager and we'll change the caregiver, usually within a few days. No reason needed, no fee, and no hard feelings.
Want to meet the caregiver first?
Book the free assessment and ask for a meet-and-greet before the first visit. We arrange one whenever we can.