What Is Home Care?

What it does

In-home care is the term that broadly defines the various types of care and services delivered by individuals or agencies to those with mobility limitations or other frailties that make it difficult for them to leave home.

In-home care generally includes help from the following:

• Elder companions, who primarily provide friendly companionship and supervision
   
• Personal care assistants, who help with some chores and daily grooming
   
• Live-in care providers, who ensure a constant monitoring presence

How it helps

In whatever capacity the extra care is needed -- from periodic social visits to help with daily medication management to around-the-clock monitoring -- in-home care can help accomplish the goal of allowing a person to stay at home rather than move to a facility. For many people, staying at home among their possessions and in a familiar community is a primal urge and plays a big role in assuring a good quality of life.

What it costs

In-home care ranges in cost from free help from volunteers who provide assistance with visits and chores to live-in care that can run several thousand dollars or more a month for constant monitoring.