Follow
Share

He is turning 98 and lives alone in his apartment.

Find Care & Housing
Good for your father at 98 still living independently. Hire a caregiver/companion a couple hours a day if that's all he needs. Put up a profile on a caregiver website like care.com and explain exactly what kind of service you're looking for, what the hours are, and what the pay is. You'll find someone. Hiring private duty will cost less than a homecare agency charges. Expect that it will probably be at least $20 an hour for a private hire if you're paying cash.

Check with his insurance and see if they cover any kin of services. They might.
Helpful Answer (0)
Reply to BurntCaregiver
Report

Simple you can find someone here on aging care in the services section. Ask your medical professional for referrals. Or put an ad in Facebook or Craig’s list.
Helpful Answer (0)
Reply to Sample
Report

At 98, dad needs more care than a check in a couple days a week, in my opinion. Call an agency and hire a caregiver to go into his home a few days a week for 4 hours to do light housekeeping, change the bed linens, do the wash, get groceries or cook, and help him with whatever he needs. Those eyes on him will also alert you to any changes in his mentation or physical condition that you're unaware of. Dad should be paying for this care.

Best of luck.
Helpful Answer (1)
Reply to lealonnie1
Report

You can check with your local department of aging about services, talk to a friend or family member, or fine and contact a home care agency professional about caregiving services and payments, insurance and benefits. Hope you find this information helpful.
Helpful Answer (0)
Reply to Senior8
Report

Call local hospice agencies. They often have a list of private caregivers in the community that families pay privately to assist with care. You can find some wonderful caregivers this way. It has nothing to do with signing up for hospice. Caregivers are private and you handle payment arrangements between you and caregiver. Check and call references. If caregiver lives close by, even better. This will become a long term relationship if you are lucky and it goes well and it’s wise to get off on the right foot. It takes an investment in finding the right persons and setting expectations and boundaries up front. A few months. It’s worth the effort to find stable and reliable caregivers that dad trusts and is familiar with and the routine. It also helps you the most.
Helpful Answer (3)
Reply to Beethoven13
Report
Bellerose63 Feb 13, 2026
Ty for info. Wondwring if it could be a little less than agencies? 10 yrs ago we paid $18 an hour thru agency.
(0)
Report
At that age I would look for a facility that has staff that check on patients throughout the day. At that age it's pretty likely he will have a fall or an episode when no one is there.
Helpful Answer (3)
Reply to JustAnon
Report

Search for resources for seniors in his county and town. Some have volunteer programs for “friendly visits” once per week, or daily calls, or even free assistance with grocery shopping, getting to doctor appointments, or similar. Churches also sometimes have these programs.

You could try putting cameras in his home to keep an eye on him yourself?

Also, you can try posting in his local area on Nextdoor for “help with light chores for an hour, 1-2 times per week” or similar. I would avoid saying in the post that this involves checking on or helping an older person living alone until you get references and feel the person out. I have had some success with this method. It’s tricky to find trustworthy, reliable and long-term people who are willing to commit to doing this for what is really quite low amount of income. If your dad is ornery at all, it’s going to make it even more difficult.

When I first started looking for help for my mom along similar lines, I thought of babysitters, dog walkers, restaurant workers who work evenings, or college or nursing school students would be populations to target. People with some daytime hours free, who might want to pick up extra money. So far, none of these have worked out too well for me, but maybe they would for you. Housecleaners are another group that I have thought of, though in my area few seem to speak English well enough to make this work.

As others have commented, I have found that the home health aide companies all seem to have a 3 or 4 hour minimum once per week and charge at least $35-$45/ hour. I assume they are all bonded and insured with some kind of training and you would get another person if the regular person calls in sick. Unfortunately, my mom totally balks and refuses the home health aides. She only wants help with exactly what she wants help for, not a person staying a set amount of hours or being paid for that much time and leaving “early.”

Good luck!
Helpful Answer (0)
Reply to Suzy23
Report

If you are familiar with any of his neighbors and one of them seems trustworthy you could pay them to check in on him daily. Most paid aids will not do anything for fewer than 20 or 30 hrs a week, but you could try Care.com.
Helpful Answer (3)
Reply to Geaton777
Report

You could sign him up for Meals on Wheels, which usually delivers each weekday.
Helpful Answer (5)
Reply to MG8522
Report

Check with the VA if Dad is a veteran, also check with your county elder affairs.
Some counties and states have these services.

You can also pay an agency. They will charge around $30 an agency for a 3 or 4 hour minimum on a regularly scheduled day once a week.
Helpful Answer (2)
Reply to brandee
Report

Ask a Question
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter