Help Available for Home Health Care

People with low incomes may be eligible for AAA services including homemaker home health aide services and other services. Check with your local or state AAA or the Eldercare Locator service (see resources below). Government-funded services are often targeted to those most in need. While there are no income criteria for many services, sometimes you may have more service options if you can pay for private help.

If you decide to hire a home care worker, you will need to decide how much help your older relative needs. Will several hours a day be enough, does he or she need help all day until the family returns home, or does your relative live alone and need round the clock care? You also need to decide what type of home care worker your relative needs. Home care personnel include:

• A Housekeeper or Chore Worker is supervised by the person hiring them and performs basic household tasks and light cleaning.

• A Homemaker or Personal Care Worker is supervised by an agency or you and provides personal care, meal planning and household management and medication reminders.

• A Companion or Live-In is supervised by an agency or you and provides personal care, light housework, exercise, companionship, and medication reminders.

• A Home Health Aide, Certified Nurse Assistant, or Nurses Aide is supervised by an agency's registered nurse. Services include personal care; help with transfers, walking, and exercise; household services that are essential to health care; and assistance with medicines.

Nonprofit and for profit home care agencies recruit, train, and pay the worker. You pay the agency.

Home health care agencies focus on the medical aspects of care and provide trained health care personnel, such as nurses and physical therapists. Medicare may pay for their services.