SH in the City is a blog about the experiences of one person working in the Senior Health Care field.
Senior Health Care means a lot of different things, but for this blog we refer primarily to Home Care, Nursing Homes, and Assisted Living.
Please see the “About Us” link.
What is in-home care and how does it compare to nursing homes or assisted living?
In-home care is where a caregiver comes to the senior’s home to help with your activities of daily living (ADLs) or independent activities of daily living (IADLs). Activities of daily living include bathing, transfers/walking assistance, and incontinence care while independent activities of daily living include meal preparation, light housecleaning, and transportation. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities can also provide this care, but generally require moving to an outside facility. Not every senior thrives in such new environments, for example, it is known that mortality rates are high, initially, when people move from their own homes. Each care choice, whether in-home care, nursing home, or assisted living, can be appropriate depending on your specific needs.
How does in-home care cost compare to assisted-living or nursing homes?
Most of the time, our services will cost less than those of assisted-living facilities or nursing homes. Besides allowing seniors to stay in their homes as long as possible, Home Care offers the flexibility of choosing how much assistance you need: whether 4 hours, once a week or up to 24 hours, 7 days a week.
How much does the service cost?
Home care typically bills on an hourly basis with the exception of live-in – which is a flat daily fee. The hours required to properly care for your loved one are often determined via a free initial assessment interview and reviewed on an ongoing basis. Please contact here to learn more about pricing.
Note that there are costs associated with caregivers who are employees: unemployment insurance, social security/medicare taxes, and Healthy San Francisco health insurance benefits, not to mention the bonding and liability insurance. A good providers rates allow them to provide caregivers with these benefits. But more importantly, paying a lower rate somewhere else will almost certainly mean that some or all of these costs are being avoided in some way.
Are your services covered by Medicare?
Unfortunately not. Medicare only covers acute skilled care, usually after a hospital stay. We can work in conjunction with your Medicare provider to ensure your loved one is receiving the appropriate amount of care. There are, however, a number of programs which can offer financial assistance to help pay for Senior Helper’s services. These include Veteran’s Express , Calpers pension benefits , and Medical .
What is Veteran’s Express?
Veteran’s Express is a free service which helps veteran’s apply for long term care benefits from the U.S. Government’s Veteran’s Administration.
Please see the VA "Aid & Attendance" page for more information
Veteran's Administration "Aid & Attendance details
Does CalPERS offer in-home care assistance?
If you are receiving a pension from CalPERS, you may also receive long term care benefits. Please contact Senior Helpers so that we might assist you with the inquiry.
How does Medical help provide for in-home care?
MediCal does provide a long term care benefit, but the maximum is $35 a month.
Please see MediCal for In Home Care for more details.
Do you provide care in facilities also?
Yes. We can provide our caregivers to attend to your loved-one in hospitals, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, long-term rehabilitation facilities and other places.
Are there licenses for Home Care agencies?
California does not yet require in-home care companies such as Senior Helpers to be licensed. However, Senior Helpers performs all of the activities presently required by other licensed states such as preparing care plans, keeping documentation logs, and caregiver and client recordkeeping.
Why should I use a professional service instead of someone in the newspaper?
There are multiple reasons why selecting a good home care company is your most beneficial option.
The best offering is where the caregivers are employees. That means they have been carefully screened and are bonded and insured. You don't have to worry about the quality of the caregiver or about the liability of having someone in your home - the company takes on that responsibility.
Professional companies also have backup - If a caregiver is sick or has an emergency, they will have someone ready to step in his or her place - so you don't have to!
These companies have trained professionals on staff. This in-house staff can do things like continually monitor the working relationship.
A good provider also will prepare a a detailed "care plan" that to ensure that care goals specified are achieved, and will follow-up with you and caregiver on a regular basis.
What is "caregiver burnout"?
Caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that may be accompanied by a change in attitude - from positive and caring to negative and unconcerned. Burnout can occur when caregivers (usually a family member) don't get the help they need, or if they try to do more than they are able. Caregivers who are "burned out" may experience fatigue, stress, anxiety, depression and loss of work. Find out the symptoms of burnout. We would be more than happy to discuss our caregivers with you as well as the services they provide. Please don't hesitate to contact us to find out more information.
