When choosing in-home care for yourself or a loved one, many people find it challenging to determine whether they require an in-home nurse, an in-home aide for personal care, or a combination of both.

In this article, we discuss how you can determine which would be best for you or your loved one, including: who could benefit from each, the differing services offered by each, general pricing differences, and what you can do if you or your loved one requires care.

In-Home Nursing & Medical Care

In-home nursing care is medical and clinical care led by a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in you or your loved one’s home. This often involves the nurse performing a medical assessment, designing a custom care plan, and either providing or overseeing the care delivered to you or your loved one. Care is personalized for each patient based on medical history, current health conditions, lifestyle, and preferences.

You may require nursing care if you or your loved one:

• Need medications, tube feedings, catheter/ostomy/trach care, or wound care.
• Had a recent hospitalization, surgery, or rehab stay.
• Have been experiencing a rapid decline in health and well-being.
• Have a chronic condition that requires clinical monitoring
• Alzheimer’s or Dementia
• Parkinson’s
• Stroke
• Cancer
• Seizures or Epilepsy
• COPD
• Are falling more often or noticing frequent dizziness, light-headedness, or symptoms that lead to falls.

Typically, home nursing care is more expensive per hour than in-home personal care but is required for shorter hours per week and fewer weeks per year than in-home personal care. At Specialty Care Services, many of our patients utilize a combination of both in-home nursing and in-home personal care, and we can help you or your loved one be healthy and comfortable with each.

In-Home Aides & Personal Home Care

In-home personal care is non-medical, day-to-day support delivered by trained caregivers (HHAs/CNAs) in your home. Unlike nursing, personal care focuses on activities of daily living (ADLs), safety, and quality of life to help you or your loved one stay independent, and taking stress and care off of family members. Care is customized to routines and preferences and can be scheduled from a few hours a week to 24/7.

You may benefit from personal care if you or your loved one:

• Need hands-on help with bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, or incontinence care.
• Would feel safer with mobility/transfer assistance, fall-prevention, and regular safety checks at home.
• Could use meal preparation, feeding assistance, hydration reminders, and light housekeeping/laundry to maintain health and hygiene.
• Need medication reminders and help organizing the day’s routine and appointments.
• Would value companionship, transportation/escort to visits, and support for errands and shopping.
• Are returning home from hospital or rehab and need extra hands for basic care while recovering.

Personal care is more affordable per hour than in-home nursing and is often scheduled for more total hours per week—covering the everyday tasks that keep someone safe, nourished, and engaged. At Specialty Care Services, personal care plans can stand alone or can be paired with nursing oversight to adapt as needs change.

Choosing Which Is Best For You

At Specialty Care Services, we can help you or your loved one by providing both nursing care and home care.

We provide a free initial consultation, where we conduct an assessment to determine the health conditions, needs, and preferences of our clients. Once we perform our assessment, we design a custom plan for you or your loved one that includes either in-home nursing, in-home personal care, or both. We also make clear the number of hours per week we’ll be doing in-home care, what the pricing will be, and what you can expect from our caregivers.

Most of Specialty Care Services’ clients utilize a combination of both in-home nursing and in-home personal care, with a Nurse Monitor doing regularly scheduled assessments of our clients to see if their care plan needs revising, while an in-home caregiver is working for our clients more regularly, providing everything our clients need daily.

Choosing between in-home nursing and personal care doesn’t have to be stressful. At Specialty Care Services, your first step is a free consultation: we’ll review health needs, safety risks, daily routines, and budget, then build a clear plan.