Personal Care, Companion Care, Personal Assistant Services & Skilled Nursing at Home
When your loved one needs help at home, it can be difficult to know what type of care is appropriate. At BrightStar Care of Acton / Andover and Lowell, we provide both non-skilled home care and skilled nursing services to support individuals and families with a wide range of needs.
Below are answers to some of the most common questions families ask about home care.
What is home care?
Home care is support provided in a person's home to help them remain safe, comfortable and as independent as possible.
Depending on the individual's needs, home care can include non-skilled services, such as personal care and companionship, or skilled nursing services, such as wound care, IV therapy and complex medical care.
What is the difference between skilled and non-skilled home care?
Non-skilled home care focuses primarily on assistance with daily activities and quality of life.
Examples include:
- Personal care
- Bathing and dressing
- Toileting and incontinence care
- Mobility assistance
- Meal preparation
- Light housekeeping
- Medication reminders
- Companionship
- Accompanying clients to appointments
- Errands and everyday assistance
- Personal Assistant services
Skilled care involves medical or clinical services provided by appropriately licensed healthcare professionals.
Examples may include:
- Skilled nursing assessments
- IV and infusion therapy
- Wound care
- Medication administration
- Injections
- Blood draws
- Ventilator and tracheostomy support
- Cancer care
- Complex disease management
- Post-hospitalization care
Personal Care FAQs
What does personal care include?
Personal care helps individuals with activities of daily living. Depending on the client's care plan, a caregiver may assist with bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, mobility, transfers, meal preparation, light housekeeping and medication reminders.
What is companion care?
Companion care provides social interaction, supervision and assistance with everyday activities.
A companion caregiver may:
- Spend time talking or socializing with the client
- Read, play games or participate in hobbies
- Accompany the client on walks
- Accompany the client to appointments
- Assist with errands
- Prepare meals
- Provide light housekeeping
- Offer companionship and reassurance
Companion care can be helpful for individuals who live alone or who would benefit from additional social interaction and support.
What are Personal Assistant services?
Personal Assistant services help clients manage everyday tasks and stay organized.
Depending on the client's needs, services may include:
- Running errands
- Grocery shopping
- Organizing appointments
- Accompanying clients to appointments
- Light household organization
- Meal preparation
- Assistance with daily routines
Skilled Nursing FAQs
What skilled nursing services are available at home?
Depending on the client's clinical needs, physician orders and applicable requirements, skilled nursing services may include:
- IV and infusion therapy
- Wound care
- Medication administration
- Injections
- Blood draws
- Complex medication management
- Ventilator support
- Tracheostomy care
- Cancer care
- Post-surgical care
- Hospital-to-home transitional care
- Chronic disease management
- Other physician-ordered skilled services
Can you provide IV or infusion therapy at home?
Yes. Depending on the treatment and the client's clinical needs, skilled nurses may provide physician-ordered IV and infusion therapy in the home.
This may include certain medications, hydration and other prescribed treatments.
Do you provide wound care at home?
Yes. Skilled nurses may provide physician-ordered wound care, including assessments, dressing changes, post-surgical wound care, wound VAC support and monitoring for changes or signs of infection.
Do you provide ventilator or tracheostomy support?
For clients who meet the clinical requirements, specialized nurses may provide ventilator and tracheostomy support in the home, including monitoring and care according to the individual's plan of care.
Can BrightStar Care support individuals with cancer?
Yes. Depending on the individual's needs and care plan, skilled nursing support may include medication management, injections, IV therapy, wound care, symptom monitoring and other services related to cancer treatment or recovery.
Our team can also provide non-skilled support, such as personal care and companionship, to help individuals and families during challenging periods.
Can you provide care for someone with ALS?
BrightStar Care may provide both skilled and non-skilled support for individuals living with ALS, depending on their clinical needs and available services.
Care may include nursing assessments, medication management, respiratory support, personal care, mobility assistance, companionship and coordination with the healthcare team.
Do you provide care for individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)?
Yes. Depending on the individual's needs, our team may provide personal care, companionship and skilled nursing support for individuals living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Care is individualized based on the client's condition, physician orders and plan of care.
Can nurses administer injections at home?
Skilled nurses may administer physician-ordered injections when appropriate and within applicable scope-of-practice and care-plan requirements.
This can include certain specialty medications and treatments.
Can you provide bone marrow stimulation injections?
When prescribed by an appropriate healthcare provider, skilled nurses may administer certain bone marrow stimulation medications/injections, such as medications used to support blood cell production, based on the prescribed plan of care.
Do you provide blood draws at home?
Depending on the client's needs and service availability, skilled nurses may provide certain in-home blood draws and laboratory-related services, helping reduce the need for unnecessary trips outside the home.
Caregiver & Family FAQs
Can I receive both skilled and non-skilled care?
Yes. A client may receive different types of services based on their individual needs.
For example, a client recovering from surgery may receive:
Skilled Nursing:
Wound care, medication management and other physician-ordered services.
Personal Care:
Bathing, dressing and mobility assistance.
Companion Care:
Social interaction and assistance with appointments or daily activities.
The care plan can be adjusted as needs change.
Can care be provided after a hospital stay?
Yes. Hospital-to-home care can help individuals transition home after hospitalization, surgery or rehabilitation.
Depending on the client's needs, support may include skilled nursing, medication management, wound care, IV therapy, personal care, meal preparation and companionship.
How often can a caregiver come to my home?
Care schedules are based on individual needs, the plan of care and service availability. Depending on the situation, care may range from a few hours per week to more extensive or around-the-clock support.
How do I know what type of care my loved one needs?
You don't have to figure it out alone.
Our team can learn about your loved one's situation, discuss their daily and clinical needs, and help you understand the available care options.
For skilled services, clinical requirements and physician orders may apply.
Why Choose BrightStar Care?
At BrightStar Care of Acton / Andover and Lowell, our goal is to provide personalized care that supports the whole person.
From a helping hand with everyday activities to complex skilled nursing care, our team is here to support individuals and families at home.
We provide:
Personal Care
Help with activities of daily living.
Companion Care
Social interaction, supervision and assistance with everyday activities.
Personal Assistant Services
Support with errands, appointments and daily organization.
Skilled Nursing
Clinical care provided by qualified nursing professionals.
Complex Care
Support for individuals with more advanced medical and clinical needs.
Transitional Care
Support following hospitalization, surgery or rehabilitation.
Need Help Understanding Your Care Options?
Whether your loved one needs companion care, personal care, a personal assistant, skilled nursing, IV therapy, wound care, ventilator support, cancer care, ALS/MS support, injections or complex medical care, our team is here to help.
📞 Call BrightStar Care of Acton / Andover and Lowell: 978-364-7740
We can discuss your situation, answer your questions and help you explore the appropriate care options for your loved one.
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