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5 Steps for Finding Emergency Home Care

6 minute readLast updated July 9, 2025
Written by Susanna Guzman
fact checkedby
Danny Szlauderbach

The first step in finding in-home care quickly, or on an emergency basis, is to understand whether nonmedical home care or home health care is needed. Next, although private caregivers can sometimes start working with very little notice, a home care agency or home health care agency is more likely to be able to respond quickly.

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Key Takeaways

  1. First, you need to understand whether your loved one needs home care or home health care when finding home care quickly.
  2. Second, understand the cost of emergency home care: agencies and private caregivers often charge more for same-day service.
  3. Working with an expert can shorten the time it takes to find emergency home care.

1: Understand what kind of in-home care your loved one needs

Finding home care quickly depends on understanding whether your loved one needs home care or home health care. While some agencies and private caregivers provide both, it’s important to be specific about your loved one’s needs so you don’t waste time talking with agencies that can’t provide the kind of care they need.

It’s also important to be clear about how long care will be needed. Understand whether you’re seeking immediate, short-term, or long-term home care.

Let our care assessment guide you

Our free tool provides options, advice, and next steps based on your unique situation.

2: Understand the cost of emergency home care

The national average for home care services in 2025 is $33 per hour.[01] Agencies and private caregivers may charge higher prices for same-day services, and agencies typically bill for immediate services on a “per diem” or “shift” rate basis, which may be higher than their normal rate.

3: Get help from an expert to find qualified candidates

Finding in-home care quickly is very time-consuming. Working with an expert can shorten the search and ensure you find the right fit. A Place for Mom’s Senior Living Advisors will seek to understand your family’s urgent needs, help you decide what kind of care will be best for your loved one,* and will help you identify caregivers in your area.

4: Decide whether to hire a private caregiver or an agency

While you may be able to find and hire a private caregiver who can start immediately, home care and home health care agencies are more likely to have staff who can begin caring for your loved one as soon as possible. Also, if your loved one needs 24-hour care, working with one agency that has staff who can cover multiple shifts is likely to be easier than finding and working with several private caregivers.

Typically, agencies will work to meet urgent and even same-day requests, depending on the availability of their caregivers and the specifics of the situation.

Talk with a Senior Living Advisor

Our advisors help 300,000 families each year find the right senior care for their loved ones.

5: Make a short list of candidates and start interviewing

Whether you hire an agency or one or more private caregivers, the time you spend ensuring they’ll be a good fit for your loved one won’t be wasted. For example:

This article was originally written by Leah Hallstrom.

* A Place for Mom refers to home care agencies but doesn’t refer to home health care providers.

Families also ask

Many home care and home health care agencies can begin caring for your loved one in as little as one day.

Yes, many families find that home care after a hospital stay provides peace of mind and practical help for seniors who need a little bit of support. Services often include light housekeeping, help with meals, hygiene, and transportation.

SHARE THE ARTICLE

  1. A Place for Mom. (2025). Cost of long-term care and senior living.

Written by
Susanna Guzman
Susanna Guzman is a professional writer and content executive with 30 years of experience in medical publishing, digital strategy, nonprofit leadership, and health information technology. She has written for familydoctor.org, Mayo Clinic, March of Dimes, and Forbes Inc., and has advised Fortune 500 companies on their content strategy and operations. Susanna is committed to creating content that honors the covenant between patients and their providers.
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Danny Szlauderbach is a Video Producer and a former Managing Editor at A Place for Mom, where he's written or reviewed hundreds of articles covering a wide range of senior living topics, from veterans benefits and home health services to innovations in memory care. Since 2010, his editing work has spanned several industries, including education, technology, and financial services. He’s a member of ACES: The Society for Editing and earned a degree in journalism from the University of Kansas.
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