Guides
Learn what you are dealing with before you decide anything
Start here
Four situations, five guides each
Recovery care
Coming home after a hospital or rehab stay.
- Hospital Discharge Checklist for Families in Massachusetts
A good discharge starts days before the ride home, not at the door.
- What Home Looks Like After Hip or Knee Replacement Surgery
The surgery is often the easy part; the weeks afterward take planning.
- Why Falls Cluster in the First 30 Days Home
The first month home carries more fall risk than most families expect.
- Does Medicare Pay for Home Care in Massachusetts?
The word home care covers two different things, and that difference affects what any program will pay for.
- Rehab Facility or Home With Help: How Families Decide
Neither option is automatically better; it depends on the specifics of the situation.
In-home care
Everyday help with bathing, meals, moving around and the house.
- Signs a Parent Needs Help at Home
Most families notice small things first. Here is what those small things usually mean.
- What Home Care Costs in Massachusetts
Cost depends on a handful of specific factors, not a single flat rate.
- Hourly Versus Live-In Care: What Is the Difference
Both are non-medical home care. The difference is how the hours are structured.
- How to Talk to a Parent About Getting Help at Home
The way this conversation starts often shapes whether a parent stays open to help.
- Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) Explained
ADLs and IADLs are the standard way of describing what someone can and cannot do on their own.
Memory care at home
Routine and calm for someone living with dementia.
- Normal Forgetting or Dementia? How to Tell the Difference
Families in Lexington, Concord and Winchester often ask the same question after a parent misplaces keys or forgets a name.
- Building a Daily Routine for Someone With Dementia
Families across Concord, Winchester and Newton find that a predictable day reduces confusion and worry for someone living with dementia.
- Sundowning: What Helps in the Late Afternoon
Many families in Burlington and Newton notice their mother or father becomes more restless or upset as the afternoon turns to evening.
- Dementia Home Safety Checklist, Room by Room
Families in Lexington, Newton, Concord and nearby Massachusetts towns often find that a few practical changes at home reduce day-to-day risk.
- What to Say When Someone Repeats the Same Question
Repeated questions are one of the most common and wearing parts of caring for a parent with dementia, and families in Winchester and Concord ask about it often.
Respite care
Time off for the family member doing most of the caring.
- What Are the Signs of Caregiver Burnout?
Burnout rarely announces itself. It shows up in small changes you might explain away for months.
- How Does Respite Care Work?
Respite care is simply scheduled coverage so the person doing most of the caring can step away.
- How Do You Plan Time Away When You Are the Caregiver?
Taking real time away takes more planning than a normal vacation, but it is doable with the right groundwork.
- What Support Exists for Family Caregivers in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts has a network of programs for unpaid family caregivers, though what is available usually depends on your town and situation.
- How Do You Care for a Parent While Raising Children?
Caring for a parent and raising children at the same time puts pressure on the same limited hours in your day.
Programs and benefits
Who pays for what, and who to call
Medicare, MassHealth, long-term care insurance, veterans benefits, your Council on Aging and the agency that covers your town. We keep the directory plain and hedged, because the rules change and eligibility is personal.
Open the directoryFederal
6 programs and contacts
Massachusetts
9 programs and contacts
Local
4 programs and contacts
Everyday needs
4 programs and contacts
Everyday needs
4 programs and contacts
Everyday needs
3 programs and contacts