Home Care in Elizabethtown, PA

Why Elizabethtown families call us

Elizabethtown families usually call us when a parent's needs change faster than the family's schedule can. E-town is a commuter town: many adult children work in Harrisburg, Hershey or Lancaster and drive PA 283 every day, which leaves long weekday hours when a parent who has started to fall, forget meals or struggle in the shower is home alone. Others call because one parent is caring for the other and has stopped sleeping. Elizabethtown College and the town's retirement communities have also drawn many people who later settled here, and their children may live hours away. What families ask for is predictable help on set days and someone who calls with a clear report. See caring for both parents.

Homes and daily life in E-town

Inside the borough, older adults tend to live in brick and frame houses and twins on the streets around the center of town, where PA 230 passes through: houses with front steps, narrow stairways and the bedrooms upstairs. Around the borough, in Mount Joy and West Donegal townships, Rheems and toward Bainbridge and Conoy Township, the homes are newer developments, ranch houses and farm properties where getting anywhere means driving. A parent who has given up driving in those areas can become isolated quickly, even with family close by, and the trip to a pharmacy or a church supper becomes something to arrange rather than something to do.

The caregiver's work follows the setting. In a borough twin, it is often stair safety, help with bathing and a first-floor routine after a fall. Out in the townships it is more often meals, light housekeeping, conversation and going along to the doctor or the grocery store. Elizabethtown also has an Amtrak station on the Keystone line, which makes it easier for out-of-town family to visit, but not to be there every day. Read about help after a fall.

Hospitals and coming home

Elizabethtown sits between two major hospitals. Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is about ten miles north on PA 743, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital is about 18 miles southeast via PA 283, and Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center is in East Hempfield Township off PA 283. Families here often juggle appointments at more than one. When a parent comes home, a caregiver can meet them at the house, help them settle, prepare a meal, give medication reminders based on the discharge instructions and stay overnight if needed. Home health nurses and therapists come from the agency the physician orders; we work alongside them. We are independent and not affiliated with Penn State Health or Penn Medicine. See coming home from Hershey Medical Center and coming home from Lancaster General.

How care starts in Elizabethtown

1. Call (717) 695-2704. A care coordinator asks what is happening at home and what hours you need covered.
2. In-home consultation. Around Harrisburg this is usually within one to two business days. Lancaster County can take a little longer, though Elizabethtown is one of the closer Lancaster County towns to our office. Tell us about any discharge date early.
3. Written care plan covering the tasks, schedule and your parent's preferences.
4. Caregiver match. We serve Elizabethtown from our Harrisburg office and, when possible, match a caregiver who lives nearby in Lancaster or Dauphin County so the drive is short. When schedules allow, we introduce the caregiver before the first shift.
5. Check-ins by phone and in person, with on-call support for active clients.

Paying for home care in Elizabethtown

Elizabethtown families most often combine private pay with long-term care insurance, VA benefits or a public program. Medicare does not pay for ongoing non-medical home care.

• OPTIONS. Elizabethtown is in Lancaster County, so residents 60 and older apply through the Lancaster County Office of Aging at (717) 299-7979, even if their doctors are in Hershey. There is no income limit; some people contribute on a sliding scale tied to income. See the OPTIONS program.
• Long-term care insurance. We provide the care plan, daily notes and itemized invoices carriers ask for.
• VA benefits for eligible veterans and surviving spouses.
• Community HealthChoices, the OBRA waiver and Act 150. We are an enrolled provider; your parent can choose any willing and qualified provider.

Read how to pay for home care in Pennsylvania or request a consultation.

Neighborhoods and nearby towns we cover

• Mount Joy Township
• West Donegal Township
• Rheems
• Bainbridge
• Conoy Township
• Mount Joy
• East Donegal Township
• Maytown
• Marietta
• Conewago Township
• Hershey
• Middletown