Home care service
Errands & grocery shopping
Errand support is having the practical running-around done — groceries, prescriptions, the post office, dry cleaning — either on your loved one’s behalf or with them along for the trip.
Is this the right kind of help?
You might recognize some of these:
- The cupboards run bare between your visits
- Prescriptions sit uncollected at the pharmacy
- Carrying shopping bags in from the car isn’t safe any more
- Small tasks — a stamp, a returned parcel, a new lightbulb — pile up undone
- You’re spending your visits on chores instead of time together
If a few of those ring true, a conversation with a care coordinator is a good next step — there’s no obligation.
What’s included
- Grocery shopping to an agreed list, dietary needs and budget, with receipts kept
- Collecting prescriptions and checking the name and details match
- Post office, bank errands, dry cleaning, returns and picking up household bits
- Carrying it all in, putting groceries away and rotating the pantry and fridge
- A clear record of what was spent so the family always knows
- Bringing your loved one along, with steady help, if they’d like the outing
The exact tasks are set in a written care plan you approve, and adjusted as needs change.
How Selectives delivers it
We treat errands as part of keeping someone healthy at home — a stocked kitchen and collected medication are the difference between a plan that works and one that quietly falls apart.
Money is handled transparently: an agreed budget, every receipt kept, and a simple running record the family can see, so there’s never any question about how household money was spent.
Who it’s for
Errand support suits older adults who can’t easily get out, people recovering from surgery or illness, and families who live too far away to keep the household supplied and running.
Typical schedules
- A weekly shopping and errands run
- Added to another regular visit
- Extra trips as needed around appointments or events
Care agreements run for a minimum of three months, with two weeks’ notice required to cancel the agreement. Visits have a five-hour minimum and no weekly minimum. Please give 24 hours’ notice to change or cancel a visit; there is no late cancellation fee.
What it costs and how to pay
Pricing is provided after a nurse evaluates your needs. Visits have a five-hour minimum, with no minimum weekly hours. There is currently no additional rate for evening, overnight or live-in care.
Invoices are issued weekly or every two weeks, as agreed. We accept checks and bank transfers. No deposit or card on file is required.
Private pay is our primary focus, and we also work with long-term care insurance and Veterans benefits. Selectives also participates as a Maryland Medicaid provider under the Community Options Program; Medicaid services are subject to eligibility, authorization, program requirements, service availability and other applicable requirements. Contact our care team to discuss your needs and available options.
Errands & grocery shopping: common questions
How is money for shopping handled?
You agree a budget in advance. The caregiver keeps every receipt and maintains a simple running record of spending that the family can review at any time. Caregivers do not have access to bank cards or accounts beyond what you arrange for shopping.
Can my mother come along on the shopping trip?
Yes, if she’d like to. The caregiver provides the steady help she needs to get around the store safely, and the outing doubles as light exercise and a change of scene.
Will you collect prescriptions?
Yes. Caregivers collect prescriptions, check that the medication and details are correct, and bring them home, so there’s no gap in a treatment plan.
Can errands be a one-off?
Yes. Some families use this regularly; others book it around a specific need — a hospital discharge, a spell of bad weather, a family event. Both are fine.
Talk to someone today
A free, no-pressure conversation about what your family needs — call us, or start online and we’ll call you back.