Home Care Services
in West Suburban Boston

Dementia care services are dedicated to helping individuals with dementia live as independently and comfortably as possible while receiving the private home care support and assistance they need. By focusing on personalized care, safety, cognitive stimulation and emotional well-being, these services promote independence and a higher quality of life for both your loved one and your family. FirstLight Home Care of West Suburban Boston is proud to offer dementia care and other home care services to Needham, Newton, Wellesley and surrounding Boston areas.

Generally speaking, personal care services assist individuals with personal hygiene and activities of daily living (ADLs). In contrast, other types of home care services address different aspects of well-being, including companionship, skilled nursing care, and help with household tasks and chores.

Most are Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) or Home Health Aides (HHA), but all are English-speaking, passionate, compassionate, and experienced–many having worked for a dozen years or more in home care and/or other care settings such as Assisted Living, Memory Care and Skilled Nursing Facilities.    Our benefits include top-of-the-market wages and perks as we are committed to attracting and retaining the very best professional caregivers.  We also are there to support our caregivers around-the-clock providing the highest levels of respect, appreciation, and recognition.  We have many caregivers who have been with us for years.   We are very selective in our hiring process.  Our pre-screening includes personal interviews, criminal background checks (both multi-state and MA CORI), and reference checks.  We put caregivers through a proprietary care assessment for competency, attitude, and behavior.   Throughout this process, we ask the question, “would I be comfortable hiring this caregiver to take care of my mother”?

We develop a custom care plan based upon a client’s specific needs, input from those involved in care including family members and care managers or resident care directors in a senior living community.  We typically have great success in matching a Caregiver and a Client right away.  But we recognize that we are aiming to create a relationship, and if it is not a good match, we will identify and schedule another caregiver who we believe would be a better match, and work as a team to ensure that everyone feels comfortable.  The importance of a good match is key to the success of good care.   We have a deep and continually expanding workforce and we are committed to matching to a client and family’s satisfaction.

Care is scheduled on an ongoing basis to help to ensure consistency with caregivers. You will be assigned a Care Coordinator who will oversee the schedule and supervise the caregivers assigned.  While we are very flexible to changing needs, we encourage our clients to maintain a consistent schedule so that we can assign a caregiver to be there on an ongoing basis and build the relationship and routine for care.  Your care coordinator will do regular check-ins with you to ensure that your caregiver and schedule are meeting your needs and expectations.

While hiring a caregiver privately or “under the table” may appear to be less expensive, there are added expenses and significant risks.

Importantly, you are considered the Employer, so liability for you and your family exists–which means you could be sued.  Liability includes any costs related to an injury that occurs on the job, such as medical expenses, lost wages or income, and disability payments.  You as the employer are responsible for Federal and state taxes, required Mass. Paid Family & Medical Leave deductions and contributions, mandated sick time, and if the caregiver is misclassified as an independent contractor when determined to be an employee, you are subject to tax evasion charges, back taxes and penalties.  You are responsible for confirming that the caregiver is authorized to work in the U.S. You need to certify the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ I-9 form.  Failure to complete and/or hiring an unauthorized worker can result in penalties up to $10,000. Worker’s liability insurance is your responsibility and premiums rise yearly.  You are responsible for having the employee fill out required Federal and state tax withholding forms (e.g., W-4) and providing year end reporting to the IRS and state authorities.  The W-2 falls to you.

Contrast this exposure with engaging FirstLight Home Care:   In addition to serving as the Employer and relieving you of the risks and costs outlined above, we have a deep and continually expanding workforce, so if your caregiver is ill or on vacation—or if a client’s needs change–we will introduce you to you alternate caregivers.

We identify and hire the best professional caregivers and provide pre-screening followed by more in-depth screening including personal interviews, criminal background checks, and reference checks.  We put caregivers through a proprietary care assessment for competency, attitude, and behavior.  We have professional, on-call office staff available 24/7 for any concerns or needs.  FirstLight supervises our caregivers to ensure that the care being provided is according to your care plan.