What was holding hiring back
Platinum Care Group is an independent non-medical home care agency serving families across Chicagoland, with about 100 caregivers. One virtual recruiter screens and interviews every caregiver applicant, and the agency hires through Indeed and ADP. It found Care Hero through an AI search and saw a demo the next day.
Platinum wanted 8 to 12 new caregivers a month and was hiring 6 to 8. It was turning down client referrals, including a 13-hour CNA case, because it did not have the caregivers to staff them. Phone screening took the recruiter 25 to 30 hours a week, about half of candidates did not show up between the screen and the interview, and applicants who applied after hours waited for the next business day.
What changed
Care Hero went live on May 15, 2026, the day after the first conversation, inside Platinum's ADP and Indeed workflow, with a local Illinois (630) number for the AI interview.
- Every applicant reached within minutes, 24/7. Applicants get a message right after they apply and call in to a short AI phone interview whenever it suits them, evenings and weekends included.
- Platinum's own rubric, automated. The agency's 20-point screening rubric was mapped into Care Hero's scoring, with questions on CNA or HHA status, personal care, dementia, mobility and hospice experience, availability and transportation.
- Candidates book their own interview. Applicants who score 50% or higher get a text with the recruiter's booking link and calendar reminders, plus a short competency form.
- Summaries where the team works. A summary, score and recording for every interview go to the recruiting inbox and Slack.
What an Illinois applicant has to clear at Platinum: a health care worker background check through the Illinois Department of Public Health, medical clearance (a physical or a negative TB test from the past 12 months), 5 hours of initial training before the first shift unless completed in the past year, reliable transportation, and real availability, since caregivers who go a month without a shift come off the roster.
The numbers
Before Care Hero, and in the five and a half months since go-live:
| Metric | Before Care Hero | With Care Hero (May 15 to Oct 29, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| First-round phone screens | The recruiter, by phone, 25 to 30 hours a week | Care Hero runs them, 24/7 |
| Phone screens completed after hours | Waited for the next business day | 41.5% |
| Completed within 1 hour of applying | Not tracked | 43.3% |
| Interviews booked | Scheduled by the recruiter | Qualified applicants book their own |
| Recruiter time on phone screening | 25 to 30 hours a week | About 20 hours a week back |
“It's been really good at capturing information that caregivers say during screening. I can focus more on capturing information during the interview and give Laura a more detailed summary.”
What the team told us
The agency's vice president says Care Hero gives the team about 20 recruiting hours back every week, and that first-round screening that used to take about three days now happens within hours of an application.
Why this matters for Illinois agencies
In caregiver recruiting, the agency that reaches an applicant first usually gets them, and most applications arrive after a shift, at night or on a weekend. In Illinois every hire also has to clear a state background check, medical clearance and training before the first shift, so each candidate lost late in the process costs real money.
Platinum closed that gap without adding recruiters. More than four in ten applicants finish their interview within an hour of applying, qualified candidates book themselves onto the recruiter's calendar, and she spends her week on the interviews that lead to hires.
From first conversation to a full year
- May 14: first conversation. Platinum found Care Hero through an AI search and saw a demo the next day.
- May 15: live. The first AI phone interviews ran on a local 630 number.
- May 18: kickoff. Platinum's 20-point rubric was mapped into Care Hero's scoring.
- June 22: pilot review. Recruiter time saved and better candidates: Platinum signed for 12 months.
- October: five months in. 41.5% of AI phone interviews happening after hours.