How we help
Tell us what is happening at home. We will tell you what we can do.
Most families call us in the middle of something: a fall, a discharge date, a diagnosis, a caregiver who cannot keep going. Find your situation below, or just call. A care coordinator answers, listens, and gives you a straight plan.
Situations we help with
After a fall
A fall changes everything in a day. Whether it ended in the ER or just a scare on the kitchen floor, the question is the same: how do we keep this from happening again without taking away their independence?
Coming home from the hospital
The hospital wants the bed. The discharge planner says someone needs to be home. You have a job, kids, and maybe a two-hour drive. This is the situation we are built for.
Dementia and memory loss
The repeated questions. The stove left on. The night you found the front door open. You want to keep them home, and you are starting to wonder how much longer you can.
You need a break (respite)
You have not slept through the night in months. You have canceled your own doctor's appointments twice. You love them and you are running on empty. Respite is not giving up; it is how you keep going.
Long-distance family
You call every day. You visit when you can. But the weekly drive is not enough anymore, and every unanswered phone call sends your stomach through the floor. You need someone local you can trust.
They refuse help
"I don't need a babysitter." You have heard it a dozen times. Meanwhile the fridge is empty, the pill bottles are a mess, and you are lying awake. There is a way through this, and it usually starts smaller than you think.
Overnight care
Days are manageable. Nights are not. Bathroom trips at 2 a.m., wandering, confusion, or a spouse who has not had an unbroken night's sleep in a year. An overnight caregiver changes the whole household.
24-hour care
The doctor, the discharge planner, or your own gut has said it: someone needs to be there all the time. You want that to be home. Here is how 24-hour care actually works.
Companionship and everyday help
Since your mother lost your father, the days are long and quiet. Meals have become toast. The mail piles up. She does not need medical care. She needs a person.
After surgery
A hip, a knee, a heart, a back. The surgeon says recovery at home is fine as long as someone is there. You want to say yes to that. Here is how to make it true.
Caring for a couple
Dad is caring for Mom, and Dad is 84. He will not admit it is too much, and you can see it in both of them. One caregiver, in one house, for two people, changes the arithmetic.
Alongside hospice
Hospice brings nurses, aides, a social worker and a chaplain, but usually for a few hours a week. The other 160 hours belong to the family. We can carry some of them with you.
Noticed changes on a visit
The house was not as clean as it used to be. Dad repeated a story. Mom's clothes hung loose. You noticed, and now you are back at your own house wondering what to do about it.
Coming home from the hospital
Discharge day is when most families first call us. Pick the hospital and we will show you what to arrange before the ride home.
UPMC Harrisburg
UPMC (also UPMC Community Osteopathic and UPMC West Shore)
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Penn State Health (also Holy Spirit Medical Center, Hampden Medical Center, Lancaster Medical Center)
Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital
Penn Medicine (Lancaster General Health)
WellSpan York Hospital
WellSpan Health (York County families also come home from UPMC Memorial and UPMC Hanover)
Reading Hospital
Tower Health (Berks County families also come home from Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center)
Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest
Lehigh Valley Health Network (also LVH–Muhlenberg, LVH–17th Street, LVH–Hecktown Oaks, LVH–Carbon, LVH–Schuylkill)
St. Luke's University Hospital–Bethlehem
St. Luke's University Health Network (also Allentown, Sacred Heart, Anderson, Easton, Carbon and Miners campuses)
UPMC West Shore
UPMC and Penn State Health (Holy Spirit Medical Center, Hampden Medical Center, UPMC Carlisle)
WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital
WellSpan Health (Franklin County families also come home from WellSpan Waynesboro Hospital)
WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital
WellSpan Health (Adams County families; some eastern Adams families also come home from UPMC Hanover)
WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital
WellSpan Health (Lebanon County veterans also come home from the Lebanon VA Medical Center)
WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital
WellSpan Health (northern Lancaster County families also come home from UPMC Lititz)
Lehigh Valley Hospital–Schuylkill
Lehigh Valley Health Network, part of Jefferson Health (also Geisinger St. Luke's, Orwigsburg, and St. Luke's Miners, Coaldale)
Penn Highlands Huntingdon
Penn Highlands Healthcare (formerly J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital), serving Huntingdon County
Fulton County Medical Center
Independent critical access hospital in McConnellsburg (agreement to join WVU Medicine announced in 2026)
St. Luke's Hospital – Carbon Campus
St. Luke's University Health Network (Carbon County families also come home from Lehigh Valley Hospital–Carbon)
Geisinger Lewistown Hospital
Geisinger (the nearest hospital for Juniata County families, in Lewistown, Mifflin County)
Coming home from rehab
Short-term rehab or a skilled nursing stay is ending. Plan the move home, the first week, and the help in between therapy visits.
Health conditions we support at home
Non-medical help that fits around the plan from the doctor, the therapists and the home health team.
Parkinson's disease
Buttons take ten minutes, the doorway stops him in his tracks, and the pill schedule runs the day. A steady caregiver takes on the hard parts, timed around his medications.
After a stroke
A weaker side, a walker, slow words and a calendar full of therapy. A caregiver handles the transfers, the showers and the long days between appointments so the family is not doing it alone.
Heart failure and COPD
The stairs, the shower and the grocery store have all become exhausting. A caregiver takes on the tiring parts and follows the care team's plan for meals and daily routines.
During cancer treatment
Chemo on Tuesday, wiped out by Thursday, and every vacation day spent on appointments. A caregiver carries the meals, laundry and hard days at home so the family can focus on her.
After losing a spouse
Dad handled the checkbook, the driving and the furnace, and now Mom is alone with all of it. A regular visitor brings back meals, routines and conversation while the family finds its footing.
Diabetes support
The meter is in a drawer and the fridge holds juice and not much else. A caregiver makes the meals, reminders and routines his doctor's plan calls for easier to keep up every day.
Services
Bathing and showering assistance at home
A steady hand in and out of the tub or shower, sponge baths when a full bath is too much, and privacy respected throughout.
Medication reminders and everyday reminders
Reminders at the right time, help opening containers and reading labels, and notes on what was taken, plus appointments, meals and fluids.
Meal preparation and feeding assistance
Home-cooked meals that follow the doctor's diet, groceries and a safe refrigerator, and patient help at the table when eating is hard.
Light housekeeping, laundry and errands
Tidying, laundry, fresh linens, dishes, groceries and errands, so the house stays safe and livable around your parent.
Live-in home care
A caregiver who stays in the home for several days at a time, with a private room and a sleep period, alternating with a second caregiver.
Home care for veterans and surviving spouses
Care at home for veterans and surviving spouses, with the records VA pension benefits need and help understanding the VA's home care programs.
Home care through Community HealthChoices, OBRA and Act 150
Personal assistance services through Community HealthChoices, the OBRA waiver and Act 150, with the right to choose your own agency.
In-home support for adults with physical disabilities
Personal assistance for adults 18 to 59 with physical disabilities, on your schedule and under your direction, through Act 150, OBRA, CHC or private pay.
Personal care at home
Hands-on help with bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, oral care and getting around the house, given with patience and privacy.
Answers and definitions
Home care questions, answered
Friendly, plain answers to the questions families ask most: starting care, what caregivers do, schedules, paying for care and where we serve.
Home care glossary for Pennsylvania families
Plain-English definitions of the terms you will hear from hospitals, insurers and Pennsylvania programs, from ADLs and Chapter 611 to NFCE and OPTIONS.
Talk to a care coordinator today
Tell us what is happening at home. We will explain your options, including what private pay, long-term care insurance, VA benefits, and Pennsylvania waiver programs may cover, and schedule an in-home care consultation when you are ready.