How it works
What happens after you call
It starts with a conversation about what has been getting harder at home. Then a nurse helps write the plan, we choose the right caregiver, and you'll know who to call from the first day.
What happens between calling a home care agency and care starting?
You tell us what has changed and where care is needed. A registered nurse visits at home and writes a care plan with your family. We choose a caregiver for your parent’s routines and personality and introduce them before the first visit. Once care starts, your Care Manager keeps you updated and adjusts the plan as needs change, and your Care Coordinator looks after the schedule.
From the first call
Seven steps to care at home
Here's what happens, in order, and what you can expect at each step.
A conversation
Call or send a request, and a care advisor from your local community calls you back. Tell us what has been getting harder, where your parent lives and what you're hoping for. You don't need the right words or a service name. We'll listen, answer your questions and explain how we do things differently, and why we think we're the right partner for your family.
You come away with a plan of action and useful information. The first conversation is free, and nothing starts until you say so.
A visit at home
A registered nurse, your Care Manager, visits the home where possible, or meets by video where it isn't, gets to know your parent and listens to everyone. Together you'll walk through the full day: waking, meals, medication reminders, the hours that are hardest, and what makes your parent smile. The visit settles the first question, whether the care needs to be hands-on.
The nurse writes the care plan with your family, with your parent there and agreeing: goals, preferences, household details and the specific tasks agreed.
The right caregiver
We choose a caregiver for your parent's routines, preferences and personality, and for the schedule you need. It's a considered match, not a shift filled from a rotation. Your Care Coordinator makes the match and your Care Manager reviews it.
You'll see a caregiver profile before the first visit, so the person at the door is an introduction rather than a stranger. If the fit isn't right, we change it.
The first day
Someone from the office is involved in the first visit. The caregiver has read the plan before arriving, knows the routine, knows where things are kept, and knows what your parent wants to do for themselves.
A first-day note to the family, in the channel you chose.
Continuity and backup
A primary caregiver, a backup plan, and a Care Manager who knows the household. When a shift can't be covered by the primary, the family hears about it before they'd ever notice anything was wrong.
A backup plan written into the care plan.
Keeping you posted
You choose the channel and the rhythm. Your Care Manager keeps you posted wherever you live, and updates describe what happened, what changed, and what we plan to do next.
A regular update, plus a named person to call when something changes.
A plan that changes with you
Needs change after a fall, a hospital stay or a harder stretch of memory loss. The plan is reviewed on a set cadence and whenever something shifts, hours are added or moved, and your family's preferences are kept up to date instead of being captured once and never revisited.
A revised care plan, with what changed marked.
Your care team
Who looks after your family
Once care starts, you're not managing it alone. These are the people you'll get to know.
You
The household
The older adult, whoever holds the decision, and anyone at a distance who needs to know what happened today.
Owns the plan
Your Care Manager
A registered nurse. Runs the assessment at home, writes the plan with you, and updates it as needs change.
Owns the schedule
Your Care Coordinator
Holds continuity and cover. This is the person who calls you when something moves.
Owns the match
Your Care Coordinator, with you
Picks the caregiver with your family. You meet them before the first shift, and if the fit isn't right, we find someone else.
In the home
The primary caregiver
Holds the relationship and the routine. Has read the plan before the first visit.
Behind them
The caregiver bench
More than 800 caregivers hired since founding. A backup plan sits in the care plan, and the size of the team behind it is why it holds.
Every one of these is a person you can name, except the last, which is the reason the others can keep their promises. If you cannot get a straight answer about which of them owns a problem, that is a fair thing to raise on the call.
Matching
How we choose your caregiver
Families ask about this more than anything else. Here's what goes into choosing the person who comes to your parent's home.
- The hours and days you need help
- The help needed, task by task
- Temperament, pace and how much conversation your parent enjoys
- Shared interests and background
- Language spoken at home
- Household preferences, including pets and smoking
- Mobility support and transfer experience
- Whether driving is required
- Experience with memory changes, where that's relevant
- Who else is in the house, and when
If something isn’t working, tell us early. Your Care Coordinator will find someone else, and changing a caregiver doesn’t mean starting the arrangement over.
Familiar faces
The same caregivers, as much as possible
Your parent shouldn't have to explain the routine to someone new every week.
We keep the same caregivers on your schedule wherever we can, so they get to know your parent, the house and the little things that make a day go well. A primary caregiver holds the relationship, and a team built from more than 800 caregivers hired since founding stands behind them, so cover is a familiar face instead of a stranger with a clipboard. A Care Coordinator owns the schedule and is the person who calls you when something moves, and a Care Manager owns the plan behind it.
The morning the caregiver calls in sick
This is the sequence, and the first cell is the part that matters most: the call goes to the office instead of to you.
6am, the shift cannot be covered
The primary caregiver calls the office, not the family.
Primary caregiver
Within the same morning
The Care Coordinator works the backup plan first, drawing on a team of more than 800 caregivers hired since founding.
Care Coordinator
Before the visit window
The family is told who is coming and when. Told before they notice, rather than after a visit is missed.
Care Coordinator
If the cover is not right
Say so early. Changing a caregiver does not mean starting the arrangement again.
Care Manager
Start timing depends on the location, schedule, support needs, and an available caregiver match. More notice creates more room to choose a strong fit rather than simply fill a shift.
Keeping you posted
Living far away shouldn't mean being in the dark
Tell us how you'd like to hear from us. Updates say how things are going and what happens next.
If your mother seemed more tired than usual or didn’t want to go out, you’ll hear what we noticed and what we suggest: moving the hours, a visit from the Care Manager, or raising it with her doctor at the next appointment. You won’t be left to work out the next step on your own.
Some families also add optional audio monitoring, which listens for events rather than conversations and alerts our team. It’s fully explained before you decide, never pushed as a sale, and you can turn it down without it touching your care. See how it works.
Questions about getting started
How soon can care start?
Tell us where care is needed, when you need it and the help you're looking for. We'll check the arrangements and explain the next steps. Overnight and around-the-clock care usually take a little more planning than daytime hours.
What kind of help can a caregiver give?
Companion care covers company, meals, light housekeeping, errands, rides and reminders. Personal care adds hands-on help with bathing, dressing, the bathroom and moving around safely. We provide personal care in Connecticut and New Jersey. In New York we provide companion care, by the hour, overnight, live-in or around the clock.
What if we don't click with the caregiver?
Tell us, and we'll find someone else. It's easiest to sort out early, and changing a caregiver doesn't mean starting the whole arrangement again.
What if the regular caregiver is sick?
Every care plan includes a backup plan, backed by more than 800 caregivers hired since founding. If the regular caregiver can't make a shift, we arrange cover and tell the family before the visit window starts, so nobody's left waiting.
Will we know what's happening day to day?
Yes. Your Care Manager keeps you updated, as often and in as much detail as your family wants and your parent agrees to. Your parent has a say in what's shared about their own day.
Do caregivers help with medication?
Yes, with reminders. A caregiver can remind your parent when it's time to take their medication. If your parent needs a nurse for more than that, our separate company, Endurance Home Health, provides skilled nursing in Connecticut.
Talk with our care team
Let's talk about the help you need
Tell us a little about what's happening at home, and we'll call to talk it through. The first conversation is free, and nothing starts until you say so.
In New Jersey, call (973) 315-5323. Looking for work? See caregiver jobs.