Home care for Seniors
Magic Touch Homecare can help you with the many challenges you face in caring for your senior. Maybe the biggest challenge for you right now is their changing needs, from living independently to needing someone to help them with day to day living.
We all agree that home is still the best place to age. It’s safe and comfortable. Your senior is encouraged to thrive when they are in their familiar surrounding.
We’re here to provide personal, custodial in-home care to your senior. Your loved one is assigned a professionally trained caregiver whose heart is in the right place. Our caregivers have the empathy and compassion to face the daily challenges of senior care.
Here are the Top 5 Common Questions about our home care services:
1. What’s Included in Magic Touch Home Care Services?
Your caregiver will help with personal care (non-medical) plus indirect tasks (chores and errands)
1. Meal Preparation
2. Medication reminders and Supervision
3. Assistance with grooming and hygiene
4. Range of motion exercises
5. Light housekeeping (no moving or lifting furniture)
6. Laundry of client’s clothes and bed linen
7. Accompany to medical appointments (prior transportation arrangement implemented).
8. Companionship and socialization
10. Coordinate medical appointments and prescription pick up
2. How much are home care services?
Your senior’s care needs are usually evaluated by our Admissions Director. As a general idea, a legitimate home care agency with an HCA number from the Department of Social Services in California will usually have a starting rate of $25/hr.
To get the right pricing, the evaluation is typically ranked in three levels. Understandably, the higher the level, the higher the rate.
A. Minimum Level of Care (Companionship):
• ambulatory (ability to walk with or without a cane or a walker)
• without heavy cognitive decline like late-stage Alzheimer’s or Dementia
• needs minimal supervision for safety
• able to use the bathroom independently
B. Moderate Level of Care
• semi-ambulatory (may be in a wheelchair periodically)
• able to stand and pivot to transfer to bed or chair
• may have mild to moderate cognitive decline (clinically diagnosed with early to moderate onset of Alzheimer’s or Dementia)
• may be incontinent of the bladder but not of stool
• requires hands-on assistance in grooming, toileting, and lightweight transferring
C. Maximum Level of Care
• needs heavy hands-on lifting
• may have late-stage Alzheimer’s or Dementia; disruptive behavior or Sundowning syndrome
• incontinent of bladder and stool
• may be using medical equipment such as Hoyer lift, oxygen concentrator, or electric scooter
3. What’s considered Specialized Care?
Where pricing for home care services may be adjusted, below are considered specialized care from our trained caregiver. Your loved one may have one or more of any of the conditions listed here:
1. Parkinson’s or other muscular degenerative diseases (may require heavy lifting)
2. Late-stage Alzheimer’s or Dementia (may have Sundowning syndrome, or combative behavior that needs a lot of re-direction and closer attention)
3. Diabetes Type 1 or 2, where set up of glucose tools is needed
4. Incontinence (of stool) care
5. Foley Catheter where the disposable urine bag needs to be frequently replaced
6. Use of Oxygen Concentrator; Presence of stage 2 and up wound where special observation is needed.
7. Ostomy care where the disposable stool bag needs to be constantly replaced
8. Palliative or Hospice care where constant bedside care and bed turns are needed.
4. How do you pay for Home Care Services?
Home care, also known as personal domestic care, or custodial care, is typically a private pay service. Medicare does not cover it.
On instances where the senior is approved for MediCal (for Californians), you can call your county’s Social Services Department to request an evaluation for In-Home Supportive Services program eligibility.
Other ways from where you may be able to draw payment for home care needs are:
- private long term care insurance
- reverse mortgage
- annuity
- stocks and bonds
- home equity line of credit
- Aids and Attendance Veteran Benefit
- Social Security Pension + Savings
- home equity loan
- and from friends and family