28 Jan Private Duty Care
What is Private Duty Care?
Private duty care is conducted by an in-home provider who helps elderly individuals with day-to-day activities. Private duty care helpers are able to assist with household chores like meal preparation and cleaning. Private duty services are usually scheduled throughout the week in consistent blocks of time, and payment is made directly to the client.
The benefits of private duty care
Many seniors turn to private duty care as a way to stay independent in their home. It can be a short- or long-term solution to everyday problems that seniors can’t solve alone, but those problems aren’t severe enough to require them to enter a nursing home or senior care facility.
By hiring a private duty caregiver, seniors can remain independent in the home. Private duty care can also be used to help an elderly person recover from a surgery.
Services provided by a private duty care assistant
Private duty care assistants provide a wide range of services that can include:
- Bathing and personal hygiene
- Meal preparation
- Transportation
- Cleaning
- Medication reminders
- Companionship
Each contract between a client and the private duty care company is unique. Only those services that are needed are scheduled. In most cases, this type of service is paid for out-of-pocket or paid using a long-term care insurance policy.
What is the difference between private duty care and home health care?
The main difference between private duty care and home health care is the type of service that is provided. Private duty assistants don’t have to be licensed or certified. In contrast, home health care aides are certified to assist the elderly by providing skilled care that might include measuring medication or taking a patient’s blood pressure.
A home health care aide might be a certified nurse or physical therapist, and their services are usually covered by Medicare. In general, visits are prescribed by the patient’s physician for a specified number of days and times over a certain period.
Private duty care can be scheduled at any time, without the prescription of a physician. A private duty care aide might be self-employed, or they may work with a larger private duty care company.