Personal Care Services Definition
Personal care services are hands-on services that assist a person with critical day-to-day activities that they are unable to perform on their own. Often referred to as Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) or Instrumental Activities of Daily Life (IADLs), these services will frequently be enough to allow a person to remain in their own home, rather than transfer to assisted living or a nursing home.
Examples of Personal Care Services
Personal in-home care services include a wide range of both ADLs and IADLs. These are all extremely basic and crucial needs that, if not met, would compromise a person’s ability to live safely at home on their own.
Some examples of personal care services include assistance with:
- Bathing
- Toileting
- Dressing
- Grooming
- Eating and meal prep
- Medication reminders
- Mobility
Personal Care Assistants
These are the caregivers who provide personal care services. There are three main categories of personal care assistants:
- Family Caregivers: sons, daughters and spouses are often able to manage and provide services on their own, depending on the level of care needed.
- Private Care Providers: these are personal care assistants or home health aides who are not associated with an agency.
- Personal Care Agencies: agencies, such as Family Choice Healthcare, employ a number of personal care assistants who are all fully licensed, trained and vetted.
- Read more about the various pros and cons of the different types of personal care assistants here.
Who Is Eligible to Receive In Home Care Services?
Most often, those receiving personal home care services include the elderly, persons with disabilities, patients recovering from injury or illness and those with chronic conditions, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Unlike home health care services, personal care services are non-medical in nature and may be provided without a prescription or regular certification. It is important to work with your senior loved one, their medical team and your personal care agency or assistant to evaluate the personal care services that will be most beneficial for your unique situation. Sometimes, personal care services will be enough while others may benefit from a combination of home care and home health care.
Benefits of Personal Care Services
There are a number of benefits to choosing this type of in home care over an assisted living facility or a nursing home.
- Ability to Stay at Home. Most seniors would prefer to be able to live out their life in their own home, particularly if they are still able to receive a level of companionship that personal care services provide. Oftentimes, having help with simple tasks is enough to allow an elderly person to live safely and comfortably at home for years.
- Lower Cost. While there is a certain cost involved with personal home care, it is most often significantly less than what the cost of assisted living or a nursing home would be.
- Personalized Needs. Personal care attendants are able to focus on the precise needs of the client. Every situation is completely different and while some may need 24 hour care, others may only require an hour or so per day.
- Enhanced Quality of Life. We have found that personal care services allow our senior clients to enjoy a wonderful quality of life, thanks to their ability to live at home, maintain a degree of independence and form a close bond with their caregiver.
Learn More
Since 1996, Family Choice Healthcare has provided quality in-home personal care services to seniors with a wide variety of circumstances and needs. If you feel that your loved one may benefit from personal care services, contact us for a free phone consultation today.
For more information on personal care services, including Medicaid coverage, choosing a personal care assistant and understanding how personal care services are defined in your area: