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If you or a loved one needs some extra help at home, home care is a great option. Seniors often need assistance with activities of daily living, like cooking, cleaning, grooming and medication management. As you look into home care for seniors, you’ve likely come across the concept of a home care agency. But you might be wondering: What is a home care agency, exactly?
When it comes to securing care for seniors, learning about home care options as early as possible is vital, says Moti Gamburd, CEO of CARE Homecare, an in-home care agency serving seniors in Los Angeles and Orange counties. “I’ve been working in senior care for over 20 years, and people often misunderstand what home care agencies do or they wait until a crisis forces their hand.”
Here, we’ll do a deep dive into what home care agencies do, home care agencies vs. private home care and when it might be a good idea to contact a home care agency for yourself or a loved one.
“At its core, home care is about preserving quality of life.”
— Moti Gamburd, CEO, CARE Homecare
What is a home care agency?
Home care agencies are companies that provide home care for seniors, disabled people and other individuals who are having trouble managing on their own at home. Home care agencies differ from home health agencies, which provide more medicalized care, such as skilled nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy or other at-home medical services.
For seniors specifically, Jung Baccam, board-certified family nurse practitioner at Atlas Ketamine, says the primary goals of home health agency are:
- Maintaining independence.
- Ensuring safety.
- Managing health conditions.
- Preventing hospitalizations.
- Delaying or avoiding nursing home placement.
- Empowering seniors to age with place with dignity.
“At its core, home care is about preserving quality of life,” Gamburd says. The goals of these agencies are not limited to helping with the daily tasks of living or reminding someone to take their medication. “It also helps people live as independently as possible in an environment that feels familiar, safe and comfortable,” he says.
What does a home care agency do?
In a nutshell, home care agencies provide non-medical assistance to seniors and other people who need help with daily tasks.
Home care agencies can help with activities of daily living (ADLs). According to Gamburd, this typically includes:
- Meal preparation and feeding.
- Laundry.
- Tidying up the house.
- Bathing.
- Dressing.
- Personal hygiene and grooming.
- Ambulating (walking, moving from one position to another, etc.).
- Transferring (from bed to couch, couch to toilet, etc.).
- Medication reminders.
- Toileting.
- Transportation to medical appointments.
- Running errands.
- Companionship.
Importantly, home care agencies can’t help with medical care in the home. “Home care is different from home health care, which is medical and requires a doctor’s prescription,” Gamburd describes. “A home care agency will not send a nurse to administer IVs or do wound care, but what it does provide is consistent, trained and vetted caregivers who can support a senior in ways that impact their day-to-day life.”
Private home care vs. home care agencies
Find home care.
When looking for in-home care for seniors, many people consider both a home care agency and private home care. Here’s what to know about each.
Private home care
Private home care might look like hiring someone for in-home care who isn’t affiliated with a home care agency. You might find this person through word-of-mouth, social media or by answering an advertisement. Private home care might also involve having a family member or friend take care of their loved one.
Hiring someone privately tends to be less costly than hiring through a home care agency. This is because a home care agency has to pay their staff at the agency, as well as the home care worker themselves.
Additionally, many families also like having more control over who they hire and the management of their loved one’s care. If private home care involves hiring a family member or friend, this can mean that your loved one gets more personalized, familiar care.
Home care agencies
According to Gamburd, the higher cost of home care agencies costs aren’t for nothing, and there are certain advantages to using a home care agency vs. a private hire.
First, hiring a home care attendant privately comes with certain risks. For instance, if a private caregiver gets sick, there may not be someone to replace them. If something goes wrong in your home, such as an accident or an instance of theft, it may be more difficult to figure out who is liable.
“With a home care agency, all caregivers are screened, insured and supervised,” Gamburd says. “If one caregiver cannot come, another one is sent, so no family should ever need to seek out substitute care.”
Finally, if you hire your own home health aide, you are in charge of paying them, scheduling them and managing most aspects of their role, which can be a burden, Baccam notes. Home care agencies handle all these aspects of your loved one’s care.
Are home care agencies covered by insurance?
Traditional health insurance for seniors, like Medicare, does not cover non-medical home care. This surprises many people, Gamburd points out. However, there may be other options for your loved one to cover some, or all, of your home care needs. Options include:
- Medicaid.
- Long-term care insurance.
- Veterans affairs (VA ) benefits.
- Waiver programs (available in some states, but not all).
If you or your loved one might need in-home care in the future, the key is to plan ahead, Gamburd says. “Too many families wait until a loved one is in crisis before looking into coverage. By then, their options are limited,” he explains. “Talking to a professional early, whether it is an elder care attorney or a home care provider, can make a huge difference in financial planning for care.”
“A home care agency might be the right choice when a senior starts to need assistance with ADLs, medication management or experiences a decline in health that makes it difficult to manage at home.”
— Jung Baccam, family nurse practitioner, Atlas Ketamine
Who is a home care agency right for?
One of the trickiest parts of senior care is knowing when it’s time to make the next move, and knowing what type of care is best for yourself or your loved one. So, how might you know that a home care agency is the next best step?
“A home care agency might be the right choice when a senior starts to need assistance with ADLs, medication management or experiences a decline in health that makes it difficult to manage at home,” Baccam says.
Other signs that home care might be needed include:
- Increased falls.
- Difficulty with personal care.
- Medication errors.
- Social isolation.
- A recent hospitalization.
“If you’re noticing these changes, it’s a good idea to reach out to an agency for an assessment,” Baccam says. “They can help you determine the best plan of care.”
The final word on home care agencies
Home care agencies are usually a more expensive option than hiring a home care attendant privately, but they also provide more oversight, training and can handle the day-to-day management of care.
If you or your loved one may need in-home care, it’s best to take a proactive approach. “The biggest mistake families make is waiting too long,” says Gamburd. “If you see a loved one missing meals, not grooming themselves or spending too much time alone, that is when home care can help avoid bigger problems in the future.”
Keep in mind, too, that you don’t have to figure this out alone. Reaching out to a doctor for recommendations and information on how to secure care is a great idea. Seeking support from a geriatric care manager or a social worker can also be beneficial.
