When you tell a family "I'm referring you to a home care agency for the dementia," they often hear "nurse." Then the first visit doesn't match what they pictured, and the call comes back to your office.
Here's where our dementia companionship starts and stops, so you can set the right expectation before the referral goes out.
What a companion does in the home
Our caregivers provide non-medical support. For a patient living with dementia at home, that means:
- Company and conversation. Someone to talk with, listen to the same story again, and keep the day from going quiet.
- Activities. Cards, folding laundry together, looking through photos, a walk to the mailbox. Familiar things, not tests.
- A steady daily routine. Breakfast, an activity, lunch, and rest in the same order each day, so fewer moments catch the patient off guard.
- Reminders and cueing. "It's time for lunch." "Your sweater's on the chair." Short prompts that help the patient do things for themselves.
- Help with meals. Getting food on the table and keeping the patient company while they eat.
- Light housekeeping. Dishes, tidying, and keeping walkways clear.
- Staying with the person so the family can step out. A daughter can get to her own appointment, or a husband can sleep, knowing someone is in the house.
Where we stop
We don't provide medical care of any kind. That includes:
- Giving medication. We can remind the patient it's time; we don't administer it.
- Wound care.
- Locked memory-care supervision. If the patient needs a secured unit, home companionship isn't the right fit.
- Managing severe behaviors that need clinical staff.
If a case sits on that line, keep it clinical.
Reminders are not medication administration
This is the line that trips families up most. A companion can say "It's eight o'clock, time for your pills." The companion doesn't hand out doses, sort a pill box as a nursing task, or decide whether a dose gets taken.
If the plan depends on someone making sure medication goes in correctly, that's a clinical need. Write it that way on the discharge plan so nobody assumes we cover it.
How to explain it to the family
A line you can use in the room:
"This is companion care, not nursing. Someone will be there for company, routine, meals, and reminders, and so you can get out of the house. Medicine and anything medical stays with your doctor and nurses."
Families take the referral better when they hear the limits from you first.
When you're ready to refer
The process is in How to Submit a Referral. When a patient with dementia needs company and routine at home, use the Refer Now button below.