Companion care · Greenwich, CT
Companion care at home in Greenwich
Someone to share lunch with, and to drive your mother to the library or a class, with no hands-on help unless you add it. Here is how companion care works in a Greenwich home, around the town's own programs and rides.
Do you provide companion care in Greenwich, CT?
Yes. We arrange companion care all over Greenwich from our office in neighboring Stamford, on any schedule we offer in Greenwich: a few hours a week, overnight, 24-hour or live-in. First a registered nurse comes to the house and writes the plan with your family, and then a Care Manager keeps you posted.
What a companion caregiver does in a Greenwich week
Companion care is someone with your parent for company, meals, errands, rides, light housekeeping and reminders, with no hands-on help. In a real week that might be breakfast and the crossword one morning, and a load of laundry and a slow walk another.
Errands are a big part of the week. A companion can drive to the pharmacy and the grocery store, or go along and push the cart while your father chooses. At Greenwich Library on West Putnam Avenue, you'll find the large print books on the first floor of the Main Library, in the Peterson Business wing, and the library's accessibility page lists an electric 4-wheel scooter and a wheelchair among its aids, so a browse can still work on a tired day.
Meals go better with company. Meals-on-Wheels, Inc. of Greenwich has served the town since 1960, its volunteers deliver Monday through Friday to each client's door, and its dietary options run from diabetic friendly and low cholesterol to lacto-ovo vegetarian. A companion caregiver can plan and cook around those deliveries and sit down to eat with your mother, so lunch is a conversation and not a tray on the counter.
Sources: Greenwich Library: accessibility; Meals-on-Wheels of Greenwich: services; Meals-on-Wheels of Greenwich
When a spouse stops driving, or a move leaves the days quiet
Loneliness tends to follow a change. Your father hands over the car keys, or your mother moves to a smaller place and the old neighbors are no longer next door. What helps is usually ordinary: someone to talk to over lunch, and a reason to go out with the ride already sorted.
Greenwich gives a week plenty of shape. The Commission on Aging's Wallace Center offers programs for Boomers and beyond every day, and residents 55 and older join free. Those programs will transition, the town says, to the Cohen Eastern Greenwich Civic Center in Old Greenwich and the Bendheim Western Greenwich Civic Center on Pemberwick Road, in preparation for upcoming renovations. The Commission describes its aim as helping older adults age successfully in place, with a sense of purpose and continued value.
Rides are what make it work. Call-A-Ride offers free rides to and from anywhere in Greenwich for seniors 60 and older, lists its hours as 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and suggests reserving a week or two in advance. Riders may also call on the day, but Call-A-Ride says a ride may not be available then.
A companion caregiver covers the rest: the trip booked too late for Call-A-Ride, the hairdresser, a service at her place of worship, and the wait in between. An outing doesn't always need a program, either. Bruce Park, the 100 acres Robert Moffat Bruce gave the town in 1908 along with his home, now the Bruce Museum, has walking paths and ponds and is open sunrise to sunset. Binney Park in Old Greenwich, Edwin Binney's gift to the town, has stone bridges, and a gazebo the town says is popular with photographers.
Sources: Town of Greenwich: The Wallace Center; Town of Greenwich: Wallace Center programs; Town of Greenwich: Cohen Eastern Greenwich Civic Center; Town of Greenwich: Commission on Aging; Call-A-Ride of Greenwich; Town of Greenwich: Bruce Park; Town of Greenwich: Binney Park
Companion care when memory is changing
When memory starts to slip, a familiar face and a steady routine count for a lot. A companion caregiver can keep the day's pattern going: breakfast at the usual time, the walk your mother likes, a reminder about the doctor's appointment, and cards or music in the afternoon.
There is help for you, too. Greenwich Hospital's Center for Healthy Aging offers a resource library, and its Family Caregiver Support Group, for adults caring for a family member with Alzheimer's disease or another type of dementia, invites you to become a savvy caregiver. The group meets on the first and third Thursdays of each month from 1:00 to 2:15 p.m., and a companion can be at home with your mother while you go.
If hands-on help with bathing, dressing or the toilet becomes part of the day, that is personal care, a separate service we provide in Connecticut. Our Greenwich dementia care page covers memory support in more depth.
Company and errands after a Greenwich Hospital stay
Greenwich Hospital's going-home guidance lists shopping, along with homemaker and companion services and Meals on Wheels, among the support services in its discharge planning. Discharge is after breakfast, it says, and the family should let the nurse know of any discharge needs as soon as possible. That is the moment to ask for a companion at home.
The first days home are full of small jobs. A companion can fill the fridge, pick up the prescriptions, change the sheets, make a light lunch and keep your father company through the long first afternoon. For a later appointment back at the hospital, the companion can drive him and wait; visitor parking is under the building.
Endurance Homebound, our plan for the first 72 hours after discharge, covers the start, and companion care can carry on from there for as long as it helps. Endurance Home Health, a separate company working in Connecticut only, provides skilled nursing, home health aides and physical therapy, and can work alongside your companion caregiver.
Sources: Greenwich Hospital: Discharge and Going Home; Greenwich Hospital: 5 Perryridge Road
Companion care or personal care: how to tell what fits
Connecticut law describes companion services as basic supervision to keep a person safe and well in their own home. The Department of Consumer Protection's examples of what a registered agency may help with include grocery shopping, light cleaning, going for walks, playing cards, conversing and going to a movie. The Department also says companions may not provide medical services such as taking blood pressure or administering medications, which is why our caregivers give reminders, not doses.
At Endurance, companion care has no hands-on help. Personal care is everything in companion care plus hands-on help with the toilet, the shower, getting dressed and getting safely out of bed. It is worth adding when one of those moments gets hard, such as stepping out of the bath or the buttons on a cardigan.
You don't have to decide once and for all. Start with companion care for the hours that feel long, and add personal care if the mornings get harder. Plans are reviewed as needs change.
Sources: Connecticut General Statutes, section 20-670; Connecticut DCP: homemaker-companion agency registration; Connecticut DCP: consumer's guide to homemaker-companion agencies
What Connecticut requires in writing, and how to check an agency
Any agency offering companion or homemaker services in Connecticut must first register with the Department of Consumer Protection, and every registration expires on October 31 each year. Our number is HCA.0002450, as a registered Connecticut Homemaker-Companion Agency, and CT eLicense will show it, or any other agency's.
No later than seven calendar days after the agency starts providing companion or homemaker services, it must give your parent, or whoever acts for them, a written contract or service plan. A change in the rate for the same level or type of service needs at least 60 days' advance written notice, and a plan without a set duration can be cancelled by the client at any time. Ask for anything that matters to your mother, such as the Tuesday library trip, to be part of the plan.
The state also requires a surety bond or insurance policy of at least $10,000 that covers theft by an employee, mandated reporter training for staff, a full background check before the agency offers a job to anyone who may provide companion or homemaker services, and, from July 1, 2025, a badge for each caregiver scheduled to visit a client. At Endurance, references and qualifications are checked before hire, and every caregiver has an orientation before the first shift.
Sources: Connecticut General Statutes, sections 20-670 to 20-682; Connecticut DCP: homemaker-companion agency registration; Connecticut DCP: consumer's guide to homemaker-companion agencies
How to start
Phone our care team or send a request, and tell us where in Greenwich your parent lives and which hours feel longest. That first call costs nothing, and nothing is arranged until you say so. Tell us when you'd like help to begin, and we'll explain what happens next.
A registered nurse then comes to see your parent at home and writes the care plan with you. A Care Coordinator looks after the schedule and the caregiver match. The caregiver is chosen for your parent and introduced before the first visit, and if the match isn't right, we find someone else. Your Care Manager keeps in touch with updates, and a backup plan is written into the care plan.
Questions about companion care in Greenwich
Can we hire someone just for company and conversation?
Yes. Companionship on its own is a good reason to call. Some parents want someone to talk with over lunch or walk beside, and nothing more. A companion caregiver can do just that, a few hours at a time, and take on errands and light housekeeping when they help. We choose the caregiver with your parent's interests in mind.
What is the difference between companion care and personal care?
Companion care is company, meals, errands, rides, light housekeeping and reminders, with no hands-on help. Personal care includes all of that plus hands-on help with the toilet, the shower, getting dressed and getting safely out of bed. We provide both in Connecticut, and a plan can start with companion care and add personal care later.
How many hours of companion care does my mother need?
Start with the hours that are hardest. For some families that is two or three afternoons a week; for others it is every weekday morning. Because Greenwich has every schedule, from hourly and overnight to live-in and awake 24-hour shifts, the plan can grow without starting over. Your Care Manager changes the hours with you when needed.
Can a companion caregiver take my father to programs at the Civic Centers?
Yes. Wallace Center programs will transition, the town says, to the Cohen Eastern Greenwich Civic Center at 90 Harding Road in Old Greenwich and the Bendheim Western Greenwich Civic Center at 449 Pemberwick Road. A companion can drive him, stay through the class if he wants company and bring him home. On days a volunteer driver suits him, Call-A-Ride is free for seniors 60 and older.
What does companion care cost in Greenwich?
We don't publish prices, because the cost depends on the hours and the schedule. Endurance is paid privately and doesn't take insurance directly. When there's a long-term care insurance policy, we help with its paperwork. Ongoing daily help at home isn't something Medicare pays for, and its home health page lists homemaker services like shopping and cleaning, unrelated to a care plan, as not covered.
What does Connecticut require in writing?
Within seven calendar days of starting companion or homemaker services, the agency must give your parent, or the person acting for them, a written contract or service plan. Rate changes for the same level or type of service need 60 days' advance written notice, and a plan with no fixed end date can be cancelled by the client at any time. Endurance's registration number is HCA.0002450.
Can a companion stay with my husband while I go to a support group?
Yes. Greenwich Hospital's Center for Healthy Aging runs a Women's Spousal Support Group for women caring for a chronically ill spouse. It meets on the second and fourth Thursdays, 1:00 to 2:15 p.m., at the Center. A companion caregiver can keep your husband company at home each time you go.
Can companion care be live-in?
Yes. A live-in companion stays in your parent's home, with agreed working time and a proper night's rest, and helps with company, meals, errands and the house through the day. If someone has to be awake through the night, awake overnight care or 24-hour shifts fit better. Our Greenwich live-in care page explains the room and the rest time.
Talk with our care team
Let's talk about the help you need
Tell us a little about what's happening, and we'll call to talk it through. The first conversation is free, and nothing starts until you say so.