Home Care in Ephrata, PA

Why Ephrata families call us

Ephrata families usually call us when a parent's needs outgrow what a close family can cover between work, farm and church. Northern Lancaster County has a strong habit of caring for parents at home, often with several generations on one property, and many of the people we talk with here have done that for years before they call. What changes is usually one event: a fall on the cellar stairs, a stroke, a hospital stay at WellSpan Ephrata, or a spouse caregiver who is worn out. The help they ask for is practical and specific: bathing and dressing in the morning, meals, a few overnight shifts, or a regular afternoon so a daughter can get to her own appointments. See respite for family caregivers.

Homes and settings around Ephrata

In the borough, older adults tend to live in brick and frame houses along and off Main Street (US 322), in the neighborhoods near Reading Road (PA 272), or in apartments and senior housing within walking distance of downtown. Many of those houses have steep stairs, a basement laundry and a bathroom on the second floor. Outside the borough, in Ephrata, Clay and West Earl townships and toward Akron and Denver, homes are farmhouses, ranch houses and in-law apartments attached to a family home, where the nearest store may be a drive away and winter roads can be the hardest part of the week.

A caregiver's day looks different in each. In town, it might be help on the stairs, a shower with a chair and a grab bar, and a walk to the post office. On a farm property, it is often personal care and meals for a parent in the in-law quarters while the rest of the family works, with the caregiver fitting around a household that is already busy. We plan around how your family actually lives; read how personal care at home works.

Coming home from WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital

Most Ephrata residents are treated at WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital on Martin Avenue, and some go to Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster for specialty care. When the discharge is set, a caregiver can meet your parent at the house, help them settle, prepare a meal, give medication reminders based on the discharge instructions and stay into the night if needed. In the following days that becomes bathing help, meals and company at follow-up appointments. Skilled nursing and therapy come from the home health agency the physician orders; we work alongside it and do not provide medical care. We are independent and not affiliated with WellSpan Health or Penn Medicine. See coming home from WellSpan Ephrata.

How care starts in Ephrata

1. Call (717) 695-2704. Tell us who needs help, how the household works, and what hours matter most.
2. In-home consultation. Ephrata is about an hour from our Harrisburg office, so scheduling usually takes a little longer than the one to two business days typical around Harrisburg. Tell us about any discharge date early.
3. Written care plan listing tasks, the schedule and your parent's preferences, including language and church or family routines.
4. Caregiver match. We serve Ephrata from our Harrisburg office and, when possible, match a caregiver who lives nearby in northern Lancaster County. Be aware that schedules here depend on caregiver availability; regular, longer shifts are easier to staff than a single one-hour visit.
5. Ongoing check-ins, with on-call support for active clients.

Paying for home care in Ephrata

Ephrata families usually pay privately, sometimes with long-term care insurance, VA benefits or a county or Medicaid program. Medicare does not pay for ongoing non-medical home care.

• OPTIONS. For residents 60 and older, apply through the Lancaster County Office of Aging at (717) 299-7979. There is no income limit; some people contribute on a sliding scale tied to income.
• Family Caregiver Support Program, also through the Office of Aging, for relatives caring for an older adult at home.
• Long-term care insurance and VA benefits. We provide the care plan, daily notes and invoices carriers and the VA ask for.
• 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

• Ephrata Township
• Clay Township
• West Earl Township
• Brownstown
• Akron
• Denver
• East Cocalico Township
• Reinholds
• Adamstown
• Terre Hill
• New Holland
• Lititz