Home Care Assistance, In-Home Services

Many people would prefer to stay in their own homes and hire in-home helpers rather than move to an assisted living facility or nursing home. This often starts with tasks such as lawn care, housekeeping, home maintenance. The next order of need is often with the IADLS (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living), such as transportation, shopping, paying bills, cooking, health care, home care, safety and pet care. Some need assistance with ADL's (Activities of Daily Living such as dressing, bathing, eating and medication supervision, transfer from bed to chair). Others require skilled nursing due to their short or long term medical conditions. For our handout on interviewing homecare providers, choosing private or agency and important terms, click here. For an article on home care options and how to choose among them, click here. If you hire a caregiver, either individually, or through a company, read this article (click here) for information about tax and legal implications. For an article on how to be an informed home care consumer, click here.

It is important to identify your needs as it helps you select the appropriate care provider. Will it be sufficient to have this assistance for a few hours per day, or are there are safety concerns that would indicate 24 hour care? What will happen if the care provider doesn't come? Medicaid and Long Term Care Insurance may pay for some of these services. Medicare only pays for medical care.

There are various levels of home care:

Companions are paid to help and sometimes live in your home. They can provide meal preparation, housekeeping, shopping, transportation and laundry. They do no hands-on care and are not regulated. Companions can be found through homecare agencies or privately.

Home health aides are trained, certified and work under the supervision of a registered nurse. They help with personal care such as dressing, personal hygiene, and ambulation. Aides can be found primarily through homecare agencies.

Visiting Nurses are licensed nurses (RN or LPN) who can dispense medication and do follow-up medical care such as wound dressing and removal of stitches. Other skilled providers who may visit at home are physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists.  This skilled care often follows hospital or rehabilitation center discharge and is provided over a limited period of time with intermittent visits. Sometimes a nurse is needed on a long-term basis for medical care. This care is often arranged by the discharge planner or doctor.

There are several considerations when deciding whether to find a care provider privately or go through an agency. A licensed agency should background check, train, and oversee their staff. Workers are bonded and insured, covered by workers compensation, and payroll taxes are paid. If the worker can not come for an appointed shift, the agency should replace them. If you chose private pay, the hourly rate is lower, but you are responsible for the payroll taxes and workers comp. You should inquire about training, certifications and recommendations. Make sure you understand whether the agency employs its care staff or whether they are serving as an employment agency and you will employ the staff.  Check driver's license and record if you expect them to drive (not all agencies permit this). Whether private or agency employee, remember that this is one of the lowest paid and most challenging professions. Care providers are often juggling client and family needs themselves, and may leave for a higher paying or more satisfying position. Many also become very attached to the families they serve and provide high quality care. PSRC does not match private care providers with families.

Medicare-certified agencies can be found at the Medicare web site www.medicare.gov. They are both licensed and certified at the highest level. They provide of Medicare reimbursed skilled medical nursing and rehabilitation in the homefor people who are unable to leave home to receive thse services. Services are short-term and intermittent. Local providers include:

• Mercer Street Friends Home Health Care 7 Dunmore Ave, Ewing NJ 08618 (609) 396-1507 www.mercerstreetfriends.org

• Princeton Healthcare System Home Care Department 208 Bunn Dr, Princeton, NJ 08540 (609) 497-4900 www.princetonhcs.org

• Robert Wood Johnson Visiting Nurses, 972 Shoppes Blvd, North Brunswick NJ 08902, 888 997-9584

• Visiting Nurse Assoc. of Mercer County 171 Jersey St, Ste 201 Trenton NJ 08610 mail: PO Box 441 Trenton NJ 08603 (609) 695-3461 www.vnahomecare.org

Call 800-367-6543 or look at www.nj.gov/health/healthfacilities for Medicare-licensed homecare agencies. The National Private Duty Association is the national association for providers of private duty nursing and homecare. (317) 663-3637 www.privatedutyhomecare.org

Licensed Health Care Service firms are licensed by the State of NJ . They can provide personal care services, have nursing supervision, must use employees to provide services, must pay employee taxes, and employees providing health care services must be licensed/certified. Medicaid will cover services to income-eligible people as an alternative to institutional care if the person is home-bound and needs assistance with at least 2-3 Activites of Daily Living. The State of NJ Division of Consumer Affairs has created a Consumers Guide to Homemaker-HomeHealth Aides available at http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/hhh/hhhaguide.pdf. Some of these are local franchises of state or regional organizations, while othes are small local agencies. Local providers include:

• A+ Senior Care 1873 Rte 70 E, Ste 203, Cherry Hill NJ 08003 (609) 450-1719 www.aplusseniorcare.com

• Bayada Nurses 168 Franklin Corner Rd, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 (609) 219-9600 www.bayada.com

• Buckingham Home Health Care 155 Raymond Rd Princeton NJ 08540 (732) 329-8888 www.buckinghamplace.net

• Senior Bridge, 3131 Princeton Pike, Bldg 2, Ste 101, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 or 1 Rossmore Dr #2, Monroe Twp 08831 (609) 395-5575. www.seniorbridge.com

• CareFocus Companion Services 168 Franklin Corner Road, Suite 220, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 (609)512-4081 www.carefocuscompanion.com

• Caring Senior Service 2382 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road, Suite 3C, Hamilton, NJ 08619 (609) 456-0473 www.caringseniorservice.com

• ComForcare 1072 Parkway Avenue, Ewing, NJ 08618 (609) 771-0083 www.comforcare.com

• Comfort Keepers 1337 State Hwy 33, Ste B, Hamilton Square, NJ 08690 (609) 890-2888 www.comfortkeepers.com

• Expert Home Care 100 Bayard St, Ste 206 New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (800) 848-2336 www.experthomecare.com. Live-ins

• Firstat Nursing 20 Texas Ave Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 (609) 219-1400

• Freedom Home Healthcare 825 Georges Rd, ste 3, North Brunswick, NJ 08902 (732) 828-2848, www.freedomhh.com

• Gentle Care Home Services 1180 Stelton Rd, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (732) 777-0021

• Grace Home Care, 116 Village Blvd, Suite 200, Princeton, NJ 08540 (609) 951 2289 http://www.gracehomecareofnj.com/

• Greenwood House Homemaker Program, 53 Walter St, Ewing, NJ 08628. (609) 883-5391 www.greenwoodhouse.org

• Griswold Special Care 14 Washington Rd, Ste 615, Princeton Junction NJ 08550  (609) 799-8856. www.griswoldspecialcare.com

• Guardian Angel Home Health Inc., 311 West Trenton Avenue Morrisille, PA 19067 (215) 295-6200

• Health Force 396 Whitehorse Ave, Hamilton, NJ 08610 (609) 581-8750

• Home Care Assistance 9 Schalks Crossing Road, Suite 710, Plainsboro, NJ 08536    (609)799-1011 www.http://homecareassistance.com

• Home Instead Senior Care 104 Hickory Corner Rd, Suite 203, E. Windsor NJ 08520 (609) 448-7555 www.homeinstead.com

• Homecare Partners 349 Applegarth Rd, Monroe Twp, NJ 08831, (609) 655-4800, www.homecarepartners.com

• Idam Home Care Services 2572 S. Broad St, Trenton NJ 08610 (609) 888-4844

• Interim Healthcare Ibis Plaza 3525 QuackerBridge Rd., Suite 1200, Hamilton NJ 08619 (609) 584-0251 www.interimhealthcare.com/

• Liberty Healthcare Services, 2333 Whitehorse-Mercerville Rd, Unit B, Hamilton Nj 08619, (609) 890-0311, www.LibertyHealthNJ.com

• Maxim Home Care. 1675 Whitehorse-Mercerville Rd Ste 106, Hamilton, NJ 08619 (609) 890-6373 www.maximhomecare.com/ and www.maximhomecare.com/Hamilton_Homecare_290.aspx

• Nesting Egg, LLC 66 Witherspoon Street, Suite 302, Princeton, NJ 08542 888-335-3537 http://www.nestingegghomecare.com

• Polish Homecare Services, NJ (732)545-5642 www.polishhomecareservice.com

• Princeton Caregivers 208 Bunn Drive Princeton, NJ 08540 (609) 497-4958. A division of Princeton Healthcare System www.princetonhcs.org/page6501.aspx

• Right at Home 10 Gordon Ave, Ste B, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 (609) 530-0221.  www.RAHprinceton.com 

• Saveon Senior Care 1-800-554-8346, www.saveonseniorcare.com

• Senior Care Management 261 W Upper Ferry Rd Ewing NJ 08628 -see geriatric care managers (609) 882-0322 www.seniorcaremgt.com/index.php

• Senior Helpers 764 Easton Ave, Ste 1, Somerset, NJ 08873,  (732) 993-6991, www.seniorhelpers.com.

• SJ Nurses 850 Hamilton Ave Trenton NJ 08629 (609) 396-7100 www.sjnurses.com

• Synergy HomeCare. Shoppes at Pennington, 21 Rt 31 North Suite B8, Pennington NJ 08534. (609) 730-9004 www.synergycentralnj.com

• We Care- 941 Whitehorse Ave Ste 20, Trenton, NJ 08610 (609) 581-8400

• Visiting Angels 3371 Rte 1 So, Ste 218 Lawrenceville NJ 08648 (609) 883-8188 www.visitingangels.com/Burling-Mercer

• Non-medical Home Care or Companion agencies hire many independent contractors to provide services, they do not pay payroll taxes or malpractice insurance, although some provide worker's compensation. Nursing supervision is often not provided; providers cannot provide hands-on care or personal services unless certified as an aide, and they may not provide health care services. These companions may come in for a few hours a week, or live in. They provide essential services such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, but are not licensed to give personal care. Local providers include:
• Home Helpers
  • Monroe Township, Middlesex and Somerset: (732) 656-1514; 601 US Hwy 206, Ste. 26-316 Hillsborough NJ 08844 (908) 281-5300
  • Web site: www.homehelpers.com
• Seniors Helping Seniors:  2633 Main St., Ste 202 Lawrenceville NJ 08648
  • Web site: www.seniorshelpingseniors.com
• Vivian Agency (companions from E. Europe )
  • 1075 Mt. Vernon Rd, Union NJ 07083
  • (908) 500-1067
• Families can also privately hire certified home health aides to provide assistance with personal care and companionship. This is a business relationship between family and employee, with family assuming the responsibility for salary, payroll taxes and insurance. PSRC does not match private care providers with families.

Selecting a homecare agency

This checklist can help in your selection of a homecare agency:

• Is the agency licensed and accredited, certified by Medicare?

• Are the aides employees or independent contractors?

• Are employees bonded and insured?

• How are employees screened prior to employment?

• What kind of training do employees get?

• Who supervises employees, how frequently?

• Who pays employees? What are the fees?

• Will the agency provide a written care plan?

• Will the agency provide a replacement if the employee is ill?

• How often is the client seen by a nurse?

• Is there a minimum number of hours per day?

• Other Options
• The Princeton Senior Resource Center's HomeFriends and LINK programs connect home-based older adults with adult and teen volunteers who visit weekly for companionship and minor assistance. These programs supplement but do not replace in-home care. For individuals who are otherwise fully independent, there are also organizations that offer assistance with specific tasks such as paying bills or transportation. See the Personal Assistance page for organizations offering these services, or call PSRC at (609) 924-7108 for more information.
• Families who choose home-based care often find that they are using the services of several organizations for various aspects of care (meals on wheels, visitors, homecare, transportation, etc). It is very helpful to have a case manager to coordinate and oversee care, particularly when family is not nearby. PSRC social service staff can do assessments, and follow-up, and can help you find, select and connect with these services as your needs change. Professional Geriatric Care Managers also provide these services, are available 24/7, and can provide guardianship services if needed where there are no family members available.
• Virtual Retirement Communities are another option currently receiving much attention. Here a person pays an annual fee to an organization which provides an array of services. This generally includes an assessment and case management with 24/7 availability. They provide referrals to affiliated services, such as counseling, meals, transportation, chores, home care, home maintenance, cleaning (sometimes at a discount) which help a person to remain at home as long as possible. The only virtual retirement community we are aware of at present is:

• Secure @ Home (Jewish Family and Children's Services), 707 Alexander Road Ste.107, Princeton, NJ 08540. (609) 987-8121.http://www.jfcsonline.org/Secure@Home.html

• Friends Lifecare at Home. Available in Pennsylvania and Delaware http://friendslifecareathome.org/index.aspx

• Family Care: Many families provide in-home care themselves, ranging from occasional shopping to full 24/7 care. There is a growing recognition of the importance of family caregivers and the need to support them in this challenging role. The State of New Jersey is beginning to make some funding available to compensate low-income caregivers and to provide support services and respite relief. PSRC recommends seeking information, support and respite if you are a family caregiver. Our Caregiver Resource Center offers support, counseling, education, information and other services to caregivers.
• See also the Adaptive Technology and Home Modifications page which provides sources for information on health-related modifications to your home. 
• The Princeton Senior Resource Center does not endorse any of the resources listed on these pages. We collect and provide information from many sources as a service to those seeking services in the Princeton area. No listed provider pays to be in our directory.