Set Up Home Entry Before the First Shift: Keys, Lockbox, Access Codes, and the Entry Log, Start to Finish

A home care start depends on a question families often leave until the first shift: how does the aide get through the door when no family member is standing there. This guide walks through the entry setup in order, from choosing the method to closing access out when service ends. It is written for a family that has picked an agency or is about to.

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Choose the entry method

There are four common setups. The family opens the door on each arrival. A lockbox holds a key and the aide enters with a code. A keypad lock is set with a code the agency receives. A neighbor or building desk holds a key under a written release. Each setup creates a different holder list, so the choice should be made before any key is cut. Apartment and condo buildings in the St. Louis area often have a management office with its own key rules, so ask the office first. Gated communities and homeowner associations may limit lockboxes or require advance notice.

Write the holder list

List every person who will hold access: the family member who manages the home, the agency office, each assigned aide if the agency issues individual credentials, and any backup holder. For each name, write what they hold (key, code, alarm user, or building permission) and who approved it. This list is the document you check whenever access changes.

Mount and test the lockbox

Place the lockbox where a visitor can reach it without being in view of the street, and where a door or gate will not strike it. Change the code from the factory setting before the first visit. Test it on a day when a family member is present: lock the door, open the box from outside, and enter. Record the test in the entry log.

Confirm the alarm

If the home has an alarm, ask the alarm company to add each authorized user by name rather than by a shared code. Write the arm and disarm steps on a card kept by the door. Ask the agency what the aide does if the alarm sounds during a visit: whom to call first, and what to do if no one answers. The aide should not be left to guess. Check the alarm's user list each time a holder changes.

Start the entry log

Record each entry and exit with the time, the person, and whether the door was locked on leaving. Keep the log where the family can read it without asking the aide. A log that lives only inside the agency's app is harder for a family to review, so ask where it is kept and how a copy can be requested.

Close out access

When service ends, or when an aide leaves the agency, remove the code, collect the key, and remove the alarm user. Change the lockbox code. Confirm each step in writing with the agency. Close-out is the step most often skipped, and it matters most when the arrangement changes.

What to ask the agency before the first visit

Ask whether the agency needs a key on file or only a code, whether individual aides receive their own credentials, what happens when an aide arrives and cannot get in, and who the family calls at that moment. Ask how long the agency waits before calling the family and whether that wait is written down. A clear answer names a person and a phone line, not a general office.