Families say “we need someone to check on Mom” and mean three different jobs. One is company: someone to talk with, walk with, or sit beside at a meal. One is hands-on help: a person in the room for bathing, dressing, or getting up from a chair. The third is watching: an adult who notices what has changed in the house and calls you when it has. Agencies sell all three under the same banner. The wrong order looks fine on paper and falls apart in the first week.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Sort the request before you call anyone

Write one line for each job. Name who it is for, what it involves, and what time of day it happens. Then put the person’s own words beside each line. If they say “I just want someone to talk to,” that is a company request. If they say “I cannot manage the shower alone,” that is a hands-on request. Keep the two apart. A request that mixes them gets a schedule that serves neither.

Check the list against the house

  • Which tasks need a person physically present, and at which hours?
  • Which tasks are company only, such as a meal together, a short walk, cards, or a phone call with a sister?
  • Which tasks are house jobs or errands that a family member, a neighbor, or a separate service could handle?
  • Which tasks have you been doing yourself without saying so?

Only the first group needs a hired person who can do hands-on work. The rest can be looser, cheaper, or handled by you. Do not buy hands-on hours to cover company, and do not expect company to cover a bath.

Ask the agency which job it is selling

  • Do you offer companion-only visits, personal care visits, or both?
  • Can one aide do both in the same shift, and how do you schedule that?
  • If a companion visit turns into help getting dressed, who decides the visit has changed, and do you call the family before it happens?
  • Will you write the task list for each visit type into the service agreement?

An agency that answers each question in plain words knows the difference. An agency that answers “we do everything” has not sorted the job, and you will be the one sorting it later.

Catch the mismatch in week one

Read the visit notes after the first full week. If the companion aide is spending the time on hands-on tasks, the plan has a hole and someone is working outside the job description. If the hands-on aide spends the hours chatting, you are paying for the wrong skill. Either way, go back to your one-line list and rewrite it. The fix is a sentence on paper, not a longer shift.

Health questions go to the family’s doctor. This guide only sorts the household work.