What is the difference between Live-In Care & 24 Hour Care
Live-In Care
A caregiver is considered “live-in” when the same caregiver remains with you, in your home, 24 hours a day and provides you with your service needs during normal daytime hours. Your caregiver will assist you as needed throughout the day and evening. When you retire to bed for the evening, your caregiver will do the same. You will have to provide separate sleeping accommodations for your caregiver and they will need to receive 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep overnight. Your caregiver will be able to occasionally assist you overnight if the need to use the restroom arises, however this should not exceed 1-2 times. It’s important your caregiver receives an adequate amount of sleep at night to ensure they are well-rested, alert and responsive to your needs throughout the day. Your caregiver will also need periodic breaks throughout the day. Generally, this involves 3 one hour breaks for meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and 2 thirty minute personal breaks throughout the day to freshen up, make a personal phone call or step outside for a brief breath of fresh air. All live-in care where sleeping accommodations are provided to your caregiver is billed at a flat rate.
Pros:
The biggest benefit to having live-in care is that the number of caregivers coming and going throughout the week will be limited to 2 in most circumstances. This will allow you to develop a positive rapport and consistent care with your regularly assigned caregiver(s).
Cons:
The only downside to having a live-in caregiver is that you are required to allow your caregiver periodic breaks throughout the day, as outlined above and 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep overnight is mandatory. You may not receive care while your caregiver is on a break or while sleeping overnight.
24 Hour Care
Compassion Home Care can also help you if your needs require regular caregiver assistance throughout the day and overnight. In these cases, we will typically assign 2 caregivers per day, working in 12 hour shifts. One caregiver will remain with you throughout the morning and daytime and your second caregiver will assist you overnight and into the next morning. Sleeping accommodations for your caregiver are not required in these cases. In some instances, depending on the level of home care you need, 3 caregivers may be assigned to you working in 8 hour shifts. This typically occurs when your needs require constant monitoring and assistance for an entire 24 hour period. All 24 hour care arrangements, where sleeping accommodations are not required for your caregiver, are billed at an hourly rate.
Pros:
With 24 hour care, you can rest assured that your caregiver(s) will be by your side, ready to assist you with your needs throughout both the day and evening. Caregivers will work in rotational shifts and you will always have an alert and refreshed caregiver to address any of your care needs, 24 hours per day.
Cons:
Because 24 hour home care service is billed at an hourly rate, it may be more expensive than a flat rate live-in care arrangement. Depending on the level of home care assistance you require, there may be less consistency of caregivers. We always will do our best to send in the same familiar caregivers you are used to, however, at times it may be necessary to send in new caregivers. Regardless of which caregivers are assigned to you, you can rest assured that all are highly experienced and have undergone the same rigorous background checks and caregiver training.
