Guides
Straight answers on hiring care
What in-home care costs, how to hire a caregiver without getting it wrong, and how to choose software if you run an agency. Written plainly, with the numbers attributed.
Arranging care before a hospital discharge
Discharge planning, made practical: inpatient versus observation status, what home health does not cover, the questions to ask, and how to get the house ready.
Caregiver pay: what should you charge?
Most caregivers undercharge because nobody ever told them the numbers. Here they are.
How do I hire a caregiver for a parent with dementia?
The skill you are hiring for is not medical. It is patience with repetition and a plan for the bad days.
Home care agency software: what to look for
A buyer's checklist for agency owners, written around the things that actually cost you money when they are missing.
What should you fix at home before care starts?
A room-by-room home safety walk-through before in-home care begins: what actually prevents falls, what to fit first, and what is worth paying for.
How do I become a caregiver?
The requirements are lighter than most people assume, and the first client is the hard part.
How much does in-home care cost?
The single most useful number to start from, then everything that moves it up or down.
How to hire a private caregiver, step by step
Most families do this once, under time pressure, with no template. Here is the order that avoids the expensive mistakes.
How do you pay for in-home care?
Medicare rarely pays for ongoing personal care. What actually funds in-home care: Medicaid waivers, long-term care insurance, VA benefits and private pay.
Live-in care or 24-hour care: what is the difference?
Two different staffing models, priced differently. What happens at night decides which one you need, and confusing them is expensive.
How do you care for a parent who lives far away?
How to care for a parent from a distance: the local network to build, the paperwork to sort before a crisis, and how to know how things really are.
Private caregiver or home-care agency: which should you choose?
Both are legitimate. They fail in different ways, and the right answer depends on how much care you need.
What certifications do I need to be a home caregiver?
Required, useful, and not worth the money — three different lists that get sold as one.
What is a care plan, and what should be in it?
A care plan that works is one or two pages, not a binder. What to write, the sections families always miss, and how to keep it current as things change.
What is respite care?
What respite care is, what it costs, which programs help pay for it, and how to hand over without the week falling apart while you are away.
What to check before you let someone work in your home
A short, unglamorous list. Working through it takes an afternoon and removes most of the risk.
What to put in a caregiver agreement
The sections that prevent the arguments: tasks and exclusions, late cancellations, pay, employment status, workers compensation and house rules.
What do you do when a caregiver arrangement is not working?
How to tell a fixable problem from one that is not, how to end a private arrangement properly, and how to change caregivers without a gap in care.
When is it time for in-home care?
The signs that someone needs help at home, which ones mean act now, how to raise it without a fight, and why starting small works better.