Our care, up close
Here's exactly what our care looks like day to day — what we do, how we choose the person who does it, and honest answers to the questions families ask us most.
What we do
Companionship
A companion visit isn't "supervision" — it's a friend who arrives with time to spare. We learn what your loved one loves and build visits around it.
Personal care
Bathing, dressing, grooming, mobility and transfers, safe use of walkers and canes. Our caregivers are trained to assist without taking over, and to protect privacy and pride at every step.
Meals & homemaking
Good food is care you can taste. We cook with your loved one when they'd enjoy it, and for them when they'd rather be spoiled — always around their tastes and any dietary needs.
Memory care support
Dementia care at home keeps the anchors in place — the same chair, the same garden, the same caregiver. Ours are trained in redirection, routine-building and communication that meets your loved one where they are today.
Medication reminders
Friendly reminders at the right times, refill tracking, and a simple note to the family after every visit. We don't administer medication — we make sure it's never forgotten, and we flag anything that seems off early.
Respite care
If you're the son, daughter or spouse doing it all, respite care is how you keep going. We step in for an afternoon a week, a long weekend, or a vacation — with a full handover so you can actually switch off.
What a visit feels like
Every plan is different — but here's a real morning visit, so you can picture it.
9:00 am
Rosa lets herself in with a hello Margaret knows by heart. Coats hung, kettle on, curtains open to the garden.
9:20 am
A relaxed shower with Rosa nearby, hair done the way Margaret likes it, morning medications checked off over breakfast.
10:30 am
Tuesday is baking day. Today it's her mother's soda bread recipe — Rosa measures, Margaret commands the kitchen.
12:00 pm
Soup and soda bread, then a slow lap around the rose beds while there's sun. Rosa tidies the kitchen after.
1:00 pm
Before she leaves, Rosa sends the family a short update: what they did, how Mom seemed, what to know for tomorrow.
Caregiver vetting & matching
Fewer than 1 in 10 applicants join our team. Here's the road every caregiver walks before they ever ring your doorbell.
Experience verified, references called personally, full background and driving checks — renewed every year, not just at hiring.
Every finalist sits down with Isabell herself. Her test is simple: would I trust this person with my own mother?
Quiet reader or chatty baker? We match temperament, interests and language first — skills are the entry ticket, not the match.
Flexible scheduling
Care needs change — your schedule can too, with a week's notice and no penalty.
From 3-hour visits, one day a week, up to daily care. The most common way families start — often just companionship and a meal.
Most popular · mornings & midday
A caregiver in the home from evening to morning — for those who wander at night, need help to the bathroom, or simply sleep better knowing someone kind is there.
8pm – 8am · awake or on-call
Full-time presence from a small, consistent team of two to three caregivers, so the faces stay familiar. Often the alternative that keeps someone out of a facility.
A care manager oversees every 24/7 plan
Honest answers
Hourly care typically runs $38–$46 per hour depending on the level of care, with a 3-hour minimum per visit. Overnight and live-in care are quoted as a flat rate after your free in-home visit.
You'll always get one clear written quote — no surprise fees, no charge for the assessment, and no long-term contract. Care can be paused or stopped with a week's notice.
Traditional Medicare doesn't cover non-medical home care, but long-term care insurance usually does — we'll help you check your policy and we handle the claim paperwork for you. Veterans and surviving spouses may qualify for VA Aid & Attendance benefits, which many families don't realize they're entitled to.
Usually within 2–4 days of your in-home visit — sometimes the next day for urgent situations, like a hospital discharge. Call us and tell us your timeline; we've never left a family stranded.
Then we re-match — quickly, and without awkwardness. Tell us (not the caregiver) and we'll handle it gracefully. Chemistry matters, and no one should feel stuck with a stranger in their home. Most families find their person on the first or second match.
Yes — memory care is roughly half of what we do. Caregivers on dementia placements complete specialized training plus ongoing coaching with our gerontology nurse consultant, and we deliberately match experienced caregivers to memory-care families. We'll tell you honestly at the assessment if a need is beyond us.
Yes — that's the whole point. You'll have one primary caregiver, plus one familiar backup who has already met your loved one for planned time off. Because 94% of our caregivers stay with us for years, your person stays your person.
Twenty unhurried minutes with someone who's helped hundreds of families figure this out.
(415) 555-01347 days a week, 8am – 8pm · or email hello@isabellshomecare.com