There are many services out in our communities that offer services to help with elderly loved ones and their families.  We sought to compare a few types of these that are available to help elderly loved ones stay independent and in their own homes for as long as they choose, without over exerting themselves or feeling as if they are burdening others asking for assistance with simple day to day tasks.

 

Senior Concierge is is a new name for the existing field of non-medical or non-skilled home care services. 

The Senior Concierge is a companion and/or assistant service offering as little or as much assistance as your senior needs.  They are completely non-medical in most cases, not giving medications nor a lot of the basics in hygiene or activities of daily living - think showers, getting dressed. 

They will however, remind loved ones of when medication needs to be taken, provide transportation to doctor's appointments, go shopping with or for your senior, coordinate out of town travel arrangements and in some cases even make these trips with them as a companion.  These services also often offer help with the mail, bills, house keeping, supervision of home repairs, and in some cases serve as a companion for social events.

Some services also offer the more traditional Home Care services as well. The home care assistant in these cases will provide offer more comprehensive care if your senior needs assistance with hygiene matters.  Staffs at these home care services are also specially trained and screened to ensure safety and appropriate care. This is also considered to be a non-medical service.  Services by a home care agency can be arranged for overnight care if needed and are available for more extensive time frames than the concierge service. 

Limitations

The limitations here are they are unable to provide medications, (but they can provide reminders and make sure medicines are in correct amounts), they aren’t able to provide medical care such as dressing changes or monitor vital signs.  They will however help your family with referrals in finding a skilled nursing provider or other assistance if that level of care is needed.

Cost

At this time these services are not covered by Medicare or private insurance, although Veterans may qualify for the Aid and Attendance pension benefit that covers some of these services. 

Most Concierge or Home Care services charge an hourly rate that can be paid weekly, monthly or in some cases contracted adhoc any time their assistance is needed. This "adhoc" or on-call alternative may be ideal if you have loved one that could benefit from this care, only if for back-up situations where you want to have a vetted, trustworthy party help out when you, a family member or friend isn't available.

Value Proposition

Even if you or your loved one can't afford ongoing services from a Senior Concierge service, this might be a great family gift for a senior who wants the independence of doing what they want to do, when they want to do it. Or for an elderly loved one whom who you feel like sits at home sometimes because they don't want to "bother" a family member to help them out.  Vetting out the "perfect concierge" for your loved one and gifting a bucket of concierge services to use at their discretion might be just the thing to enable them to live a more independent, fulfilling lifestyle.

If you decide to investigate Senior Concierge for your senior loved one, do your research and ask questions, there are numerous resources available with just the touch of the keyboard. A few companies we took a look at are outlined in our Senior Care Concierge Services Comparison.