SNIPE VENTURES · ALBERTA
What should an Alberta home care agency website show families?
For independent home care and home support agencies. This is a content checklist, not a design brief and not legal advice.
Direct answer
Families comparing private home care agencies need to see what you do, where you serve, how public funding options like CDHCI fit if you participate, and how to start (usually a phone action or a short form). If those basics are buried or missing, adult children keep calling the next listing.
Services in plain words
Name the work you actually do: personal care, home support, meal help, medication reminders under your policies, respite, companionship, or specialty support such as dementia-capable care if that is real for your team. Skip vague “full spectrum of solutions” lines.
Alberta’s public materials distinguish home and community care delivered by the regional health authority, by contracted providers, and by client-chosen providers (including CDHCI). Your private agency site should say which model you operate under in language a non-clinician can follow, without inventing a licence you do not hold. Home and community care providers are not required to be licensed the way continuing care homes are; Alberta.ca explains inspection and monitoring under the Continuing Care Act instead.
Service area
List the cities, towns, or neighbourhoods you can staff sustainably. “Greater Calgary” or “Edmonton and area” is fine when it is true; a map of Alberta when you only cover two postal-code clusters is not.
If you are listed on the CDHCI service zone map, keep your website area language consistent with what families will see when they search that map by postal code. Alberta Blue Cross tells families to contact the provider to confirm the address can be served.
Funding and CDHCI
Many callers mix up private-pay care, benefits, and publicly funded home care. State whether you take private pay, whether you are registered for Client-Directed Home Care Invoicing (CDHCI), and what that means in one short paragraph.
CDHCI is a publicly funded option administered by Alberta Blue Cross for eligible clients. Families typically need an assessment; Blue Cross materials tell people to call 811 to request an assessment connection. Clients choose a provider registered with Blue Cross, and the agency bills Blue Cross for authorized services. Brochures and Blue Cross pages also note that clients do not need a retail Alberta Blue Cross insurance plan to use CDHCI. Only advertise CDHCI status if you are actually registered.
How to start care
Put the next step above the fold on mobile: call, text policy, or a short inquiry form (name, phone, email, city, who needs care, when they hope to start). Promise only the response speed you can keep.
Add a short FAQ for hospital discharge timing, evenings and weekends, languages, and what happens after the first call. Link deeper guides if you have them; do not force a long story before the contact path.
Trust details families scan for
Office hours, who answers after hours, languages, and a privacy note that matches how you collect inquiry data. Private-sector organizations in Alberta generally operate under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA); inquiry forms collect personal information, so a clear privacy policy belongs on the site.
Readable type, strong contrast, and large tap targets help older adults and tired adult children. Aim for the practical habits in WCAG Level AA rather than decorative motion that moves content around.
FAQ
Do we need a CDHCI page if we are not registered?
You still need a short funding FAQ so families know you are private-pay (or mixed) and how public assessment via 811 works. Do not claim CDHCI provider status unless Alberta Blue Cross registration is current.
Should we publish hourly rates?
Only if you can keep them accurate and explain what is included. CDHCI authorized hours and private rates are different; inventing “average Alberta rates” on the site creates angry first calls.
Is a licence number required on the website?
Home and community care providers are not required to be licensed like continuing care homes, per Alberta.ca. If you hold another credential or association membership, describe it accurately. Do not imply a continuing care home licence you do not have.
What is the minimum page set?
Home, services, service area, how to start (contact or inquiry), careers if you hire, and privacy. Add CDHCI or funding detail when families ask about it every week.