Making the choice to provide a senior loved one with professional in-home supportive services may be very difficult. You might have more questions than answers as you try to find the best home care provider in Santa Clara County. Get the answers you need to make a decision that's right for you and your loved one from Visiting Angels Sunnyvale, an agency that has been helping families in Sunnyvale, Los Gatos, San Jose, Campbell, Milpitas, Santa Clara, and the surrounding communities in California since 2003. To further assist you in navigating this procedure and provide you with reassurance without feeling pressured, Visiting Angels offers complimentary in-home consultations to help you better understand how we help seniors age in place. We've also provided answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about in-home care.

What Families in Sunnyvale, CA and Surrounding Areas Should Know About In-Home Supportive Services

Here is what you should know about professional in-home supportive services for seniors and how it can help those who wish to age in place.

What is in-home care?

In-home care is a type of supportive service for seniors that is provided in the client's home. Unlike seniors who relocate to assisted living facilities, nursing homes, memory care centers, and similar communities, seniors who receive in-home supportive services don't have to leave their homes in order to get the assistance and support they need.

How can in-home care benefit seniors in Sunnyvale and surrounding areas?

Professional in-home supportive services provide many benefits for older adults in Santa Clara County. One of the biggest benefits is being able to customize the care they receive and schedule caregiver visits in a way that best fits their needs. When seniors receive care at home, they don't have to conform to a residential community's schedule. Instead, they can get the services they need when they need them most without it interfering with their everyday routine.

In addition, in-home supportive services not only provide help with simple everyday tasks, but they also include companionship for seniors. Older adults who live on their own don't have as many opportunities to socialize with others, which can cause them to feel lonely and isolated. However, many home care agencies offer companion care, which provides seniors with a caring and compassionate presence to reduce the risk of isolation.

Professional in-home care benefits families, too. That's because professional caregivers keep a close eye on their clients and ensure they're safe, healthy, and content in their care. Additionally, the costs of professional in-home supportive services are often lower compared to the cost of moving into an assisted living facility.

But most of all, in-home care allows seniors to age in place in the home they've known and loved for so many years.

What is "aging in place"?

When people are able to age in place, they are able to remain in their own home, a friend or family member's house, or an assisted living community without compromising their safety or mobility.

Seniors who wish to age in place often need assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) because age-related mobility and cognitive issues can make them struggle with these tasks. However, there may be times where a senior can't get the help they need from family or friends. With professional in-home supportive services, seniors can receive reliable support with these tasks in order to make aging in place much easier.

How is in-home care different from home health care?

A skilled and licensed medical worker, like a nurse, physical therapist, or occupational therapist, makes visits to your home to provide medical care. This is called home health care.

Typically, in-home supportive services do not involve medical care and will not include help with duties such as changing wound dressings or providing medicine to the patient. Non-medical home care services, however, do provide companionship and help with everyday life tasks, including grooming, dressing, using the restroom, light cleaning, food preparation, and running errands, to your aging loved one.

Visiting Angels: In-Home Supportive Services We Offer and Why Families in Sunnyvale, CA and Nearby Areas Count on Us

Learn more about Visiting Angels Sunnyvale and the in-home supportive services we offer in Santa Clara County.

What home care services does Visiting Angels Sunnyvale offer?

Some of the in-home supportive services we offer include:

• Light housekeeping
• Meal planning and preparation
• Medication reminders
• Personal hygiene assistance
• Mobility assistance
• Help with running errands
• Transportation

Do you offer specialized in-home care options?

Yes, we do! Our Senior Life Care Navigation offers many options for clients in Sunnyvale and nearby areas who need more comprehensive in-home senior care. Services included in the Senior Life Care Navigation program include:

• Private Duty Care
• Companion Care
• Respite Care
• Fall Prevention
• Social Care
• Ready-Set-Go Home
• Dementia Care
• Alzheimer's Care
• Palliative Care
• End of Life Care

Do you provide care in assisted living facilities?

Yes! Seniors living in assistive living communities in Santa Clara County are eligible for Visiting Angels Sunnyvale's additional care services. On a typical shift, caregivers at assisted living communities help many seniors. In addition to the help offered by the facility's employees, some families choose to engage a professional caregiver who may stay with their loved one longer or visit more often depending on their requirements.

To help your loved one maintain their current level of care for a longer period of time, our caregivers can provide extra assistance with everyday tasks, as well as quality companionship. The need to transfer your loved one to a less autonomous area of the institution, where their daily care costs can be greater, can be avoided with the assistance of professional caregivers from Visiting Angels Sunnyvale.

What areas does Visiting Angels Sunnyvale serve?

We provide in-home care for seniors in the following communities in Santa Clara County:

• Sunnyvale
• Campbell
• Los Gatos
• Milpitas
• San Jose
• Santa Clara

In addition, we have an office in San Jose in order to serve a greater portion of Santa Clara County!

How do you ensure your caregivers have the right skills?

At Visiting Angels Sunnyvale, we have two ways to making sure our team is capable of providing dependable in-home supportive services:

• Hiring - When it comes to hiring caregivers, we look for individuals who have local verifiable experience and excellent references. In addition, we also focus on finding individuals who have outstanding character and share our agency's values like patience, loyalty, dedication, and kindness.


• Ongoing training - Once hired our caregivers have many opportunities to explore ways to improve their caregiving abilities. For example, not only do many of our caregivers have first-hand experience caring for people with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, but some of them have chosen to further their education by earning specialized care certifications from respected organizations in the field. Additionally, Visiting Angels' "Caregiver University" offers specific training for providing in-home supportive services to seniors living with illnesses such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, and dementia.

Do you handle taxes and insurance for your caregivers?

During their whole stay at your house, our caregivers will continue to work as our employees. Rest assured that our caregivers are fully protected by our worker's compensation and liability insurance coverage. Additionally, Visiting Angels Sunnyvale takes care of all the necessary taxes.

Do your caregivers speak English?

Every single one of our caregivers writes, reads, and speaks English. If you would like a caregiver who is fluent in more than just English, we have many of them. Just let us know which language(s) you speak most comfortably.

How Families in Sunnyvale, CA and Surrounding Areas Can Get Started with In-Home Supportive Services from Visiting Angels

Considering in-home supportive services from Visiting Angels Sunnyvale? Here's how we can help you get started!

How can I get started with professional home care from Visiting Angels Sunnyvale?

Contacting our Sunnyvale, CA office to set up a no-cost in-home consultation with a care coordinator is the first step in beginning your journey with Visiting Angels. You can either call us at 408-735-0977 or fill out our form. During this consultation, we will review your loved one's requirements, address any concerns you may have, and provide you more details about the home care services we offer.

If you choose Visiting Angels Sunnyvale for professional in-home supportive services, a care coordinator will visit your house at no cost to you and draw out a detailed plan outlining the care your family member will receive.

After that, we'll find caregivers who are a good fit for your loved one in terms of personality, availability, and skill set. Meeting the caregiver is the next step; when both you and your loved one give the go-ahead, they'll start working for you.

Will I get to meet the caregiver first?

Yes, you can! We at Visiting Angels Sunnyvale think it's critical that you have total trust and confidence in your caregiver. After a personal interview, we will pair you with a caregiver whose personality and abilities we think would be a suitable match.

I live outside of Santa Clara County; can I still help my loved one arrange in-home supportive services?

Yes. We understand that families can live far away from elderly loved ones and may not always be able to arrange in-home supportive services in person. Fortunately, we provide options for families to be involved during care consultations over the phone or through videoconferencing so they can stay involved in the process, no matter the distance.

Can I make changes to the care plan?

Our care plans are flexible and may be changed as needed. Ultimately, it is your family, not our agency, who should benefit from the plan. Permanent scheduling changes need one week's notice, but Visiting Angels Sunnyvale knows that last-minute adjustments are occasionally inevitable. In the event of an emergency, our care coordinators will make every effort to meet your scheduling needs.

Can I select a new caregiver?

Having a caregiver come to your house may be a big change for seniors, and it may take some time for everyone involved to feel at ease. But if you ever feel that the caregiver isn't a good fit, our care coordinators are always here to suggest someone else.

What if I have more questions about Visiting Angels Sunnyvale?

If you'd like to learn more about our in-home supportive services, feel free to reach out to our Sunnyvale, CA office by calling 408-735-0977 or filling out our form!