Home care provides health services conducted in the privacy of an individual’s home. This includes skilled nursing, social services, and physical, speech, and occupational therapy. There are also additional services available, such as providing a certified nursing assistant (CNA), a home companion, and homemaker care, which assists the client with activities in their daily life (ADLs).

Gathering a list of potential home health agencies and then contacting each one to discuss their available services is a great first step in finding a home health agency. Doing online research and speaking to those in the client’s fellow community who might be familiar with these services is also helpful.

• Medicare
• Commercial Insurance
• Private Pay
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Medicaid (Custodial Care)

Private duty care (often known as custodial care) offers a broad range of long-term services to assist senior adults in their daily lives. This often includes non-invasive medical and nursing care, bill-paying, transportation services, meal preparation, and companionship. The goal of a private duty caregiver is to provide whatever support a senior adult needs to remain independent for as long as possible in the comfort of their own home.

Home health skilled care, on the other hand, is a medically-driven service that helps adults and seniors recovering after a hospital or facility stay, or are in need of additional support to remain safely at home and avoid unnecessary hospitalization. These Medicare-certified services may include short-term nursing, as well as rehabilitative, therapeutic, and assistive home health care. This care is provided by registered nurses, physical and occupational therapists, home health aides, and medical social workers.