Where to start › Kind of care
What kind of care does my person need?
You don't need a diagnosis to think this through. The practical question is simple: how much help does daily life take now, and with what? Professionals call these the "activities of daily living." You can just picture an ordinary day.
The everyday-tasks yardstick
Care needs are usually described by two kinds of task:
- Basic daily tasks — bathing, dressing, eating, using the toilet, and moving from a bed to a chair. Needing hands-on help with two or more of these is the common line at which around-the-clock care, and many Medicaid programs, come into play.
- Independent-living tasks — managing money, cooking, keeping track of medications, driving or arranging rides, housekeeping. Trouble here usually comes first, and is the early signal that more help is coming.
One more thing the checklists miss: the caregiver's limits count too. If the family member doing the caring isn't sleeping, can't safely lift or turn their person, or is worn down by memory-related behaviors, that is a real and legitimate reason care needs to change — and short-term respite care exists precisely for that.
Roughly, this points to one of three settings
These aren't rigid boxes, and a professional assessment (a discharge planner or an Area Agency on Aging options counselor) sets the actual "level of care." But as a starting map:
- Mostly independent, needs some help at home → Help at home
- Needs daily supervision and help, but not constant medical care → Assisted living & personal care homes
- Needs skilled, around-the-clock medical care → Nursing-level care
- Memory changes are the main worry → Memory changes & dementia care
Who helps you locally — free, and on your side. You do not have to figure this out alone. Your Area Agency on Aging gives free options counseling; reach any of them through the federal Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or eldercare.acl.gov (Administration for Community Living). More on the four people who help — and what each one does — on Who helps me locally.