Home care service
Personal care
Personal care is respectful, hands-on help with the private routines of daily life — bathing, dressing, grooming, using the bathroom, and moving around safely — so your loved one stays comfortable and independent at home.
Is this the right kind of help?
You might recognize some of these:
- Getting washed and dressed has become slow, exhausting, or something they avoid
- You’ve noticed unwashed hair, worn clothes, or skipped shaving that isn’t like them
- They’ve had a fall, or a near miss, getting in or out of the shower or bath
- A hospital stay or new diagnosis has made their usual routine hard to manage alone
- Helping with these tasks yourself is straining your relationship or your back
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
- Bathing, showering or a bed bath, with the room kept warm and private
- Help getting dressed and undressed, including fasteners, shoes and compression stockings
- Hair care, shaving, brushing teeth and denture care, nail and skin care
- Discreet help getting to and from the bathroom and with continence care
- Safe transfers — in and out of bed, chairs and the shower — and steady help walking
- A quiet check on skin, appetite and mood, with anything of concern reported to the family
The exact tasks are set in a written care plan you approve, and adjusted as needs change.
How Selectives delivers it
We start with a conversation about how your loved one likes things done — the order of a morning routine, the water temperature, which side to stand on. That plan goes in writing, and the caregiver follows it.
Personal care is intimate work, and our caregivers are trained to do it without rushing and without taking over. We encourage people to do what they still can for themselves, and step in for the rest so nothing feels like a loss of dignity.
Who it’s for
Personal care suits older adults recovering from a fall, surgery or illness; people living with arthritis, Parkinson’s, a stroke or reduced mobility; and anyone for whom the bathroom has started to feel unsafe.
Typical schedules
- A morning visit to get up, washed and dressed, and an evening visit to get ready for bed
- Five or more hours several mornings a week
- Daily visits, or longer shifts, during recovery from a hospital stay
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.
Personal care: common questions
Is personal care the same as nursing?
No. Personal care is non-medical help with everyday routines such as bathing, dressing and grooming, and it does not include wound care, injections or other clinical tasks. Selectives is a licensed Maryland Residential Service Agency (RSA-02896); the care described on this site is non-medical personal care, companionship and related support.
Can a caregiver help my mother shower if she’s worried about falling?
Yes. Safe bathing is one of the most common reasons families call. The caregiver manages water temperature, provides steadying support, uses any grab bars or shower seat you have, and can flag if extra equipment would make it safer.
Will the same caregiver come each time?
We aim for consistency, because trust matters most with personal care. You’ll have a small, regular team rather than a different person each visit, and we introduce any new caregiver before their first shift.
What if my father refuses help with bathing?
That’s common, and pushing rarely works. Our caregivers build up to personal care over a few visits, starting with companionship and lighter tasks, so it feels like help from someone familiar rather than a stranger.
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.