FAQ
Home care questions, answered
Straight answers about non-medical in-home care in the South Bay and across Los Angeles County: how it works, what it costs, and how to get started.
Getting started
Home care in the South Bay: the basics
Who provides in-home care in Redondo Beach and the South Bay?
Around The Clock Home Services is a family-owned, non-medical home care agency at 511 Ruby St in Redondo Beach. For more than 30 years we've helped families across the South Bay and Los Angeles County with personal care, 24-hour care, dementia care, companionship, respite and recovery care. Call (310) 940-0191 or use our contact form.
How do I choose a home care agency in the South Bay?
Ask whether the agency is a licensed California Home Care Organization, whether caregivers are employees, how they're screened, and who answers at night. Around The Clock Home Services is licensed (HCO #194700757). Every caregiver is a state-registered home care aide with DOJ and FBI fingerprint checks, a TB test and at least two years of verified experience.
What's the difference between home care and home health care?
Home care is non-medical help with activities of daily living: bathing, meals, companionship, supervision. Home health care is skilled medical care, like nursing or physical therapy, that a doctor orders. Many families use both, and we're happy to work alongside a home health nurse.
Do you offer live-in care?
Yes. We arrange live-in caregivers who stay in the home, as well as awake 24-hour shift care for clients who need someone up all night. We'll help you decide which is safer.
Do you offer dementia care at home?
Yes. Our memory care at home pairs your loved one with caregivers trained in dementia care, who keep the day calm and familiar for seniors with Alzheimer's or other memory loss. Many older adults with memory loss do best in their own home with the right support.
How quickly can care start?
Usually within the week. After a hospital discharge, often the same day or the next.
Can we meet over Zoom first?
Of course. Many families start with a Zoom call, especially when siblings live in different cities. We'll still do the in-home assessment before care begins.
Do we have to sign a long-term contract?
No. You can add hours, cut back, or stop, and we'll adjust the care plan with you.
Does Medicare pay for home care?
Medicare doesn't cover ongoing non-medical home care for seniors. It can cover short-term home health visits a doctor orders. Most families pay privately, sometimes with help from long-term care insurance or VA benefits.
Personal Care
Questions families ask about personal care
Who offers in-home personal care in Redondo Beach and Torrance?
Around The Clock Home Services provides non-medical personal care at home across the South Bay, including Redondo Beach, Torrance, Manhattan Beach and Palos Verdes. Our caregivers help with bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, mobility and meals, plus medication reminders. We start with a free in-home assessment and a written care plan. Call (310) 940-0191.
How are your personal care aides screened?
Every Around The Clock caregiver is an agency employee and a state-registered home care aide with at least two years of verified experience, DOJ and FBI fingerprint background checks and a TB test. We match caregivers on temperament as well as skill, and you meet your caregiver before the first visit. If the fit isn't right, we change it.
Will the same caregiver come every visit?
Yes, as much as we can. Consistency is the point for seniors who need personal care support. We build a small, regular team around each of our clients so familiar faces come through the door, with trained backup for illness or vacation.
Is personal care medical care?
No. Personal care is non-medical support with activities of daily living. If skilled nursing is ordered by a physician, we coordinate alongside the home health agency.
Can I hire someone just to help my parent with a bath?
Yes. Some families book bathing assistance alone, just for showers and getting dressed. We'll suggest a schedule that keeps your loved one safe without selling hours you don't need.
What is the minimum number of hours?
Most families start with a few visits a week. We'll tell you honestly on the first call what schedule makes sense and what we can staff.
Can personal care help after a hospital stay?
Yes. Call as soon as you have a discharge date. We can often start the same day or the next, and adjust the care plan as recovery goes. See our disability and recovery care for more.
24-Hour Home Care
Questions families ask about 24-hour care
Who provides 24-hour home care in Torrance and the South Bay?
Around The Clock Home Services, a family-owned agency in Redondo Beach, provides 24-hour home care across Torrance and the South Bay. We offer rotating awake shifts, awake overnight care and live-in caregivers, and we'll help you decide which is safer for your loved one. Call (310) 940-0191 to set up a free in-home assessment.
How quickly can 24-hour care start after a hospital discharge?
Often the same day or the next. Call Around The Clock Home Services at (310) 940-0191 as soon as you have a discharge date. We'll assess what's needed, write a care plan you approve, and introduce the caregiver rotation before the first shift, so your loved one is never met by a stranger at the door.
Are overnight caregivers allowed to sleep?
With awake shift care, no. The overnight caregiver stays awake and alert for the whole shift. With live-in care, yes. The caregiver sleeps in the home and helps if your loved one needs something now and then. If someone is up more than once or twice most nights, we'll recommend awake shifts.
Is 24-hour care the same as live-in care?
They're two ways to cover the whole day. With 24-hour shift care, caregivers rotate and stay awake all night, which suits clients who need attention overnight. With live-in care, one caregiver stays in the home and sleeps there. We schedule both, and we'll recommend the safer fit after the free assessment.
How many caregivers will we meet?
Usually two or three on a steady rotation, all introduced to you before they start, so your loved one is never met by a stranger. Older adults settle in faster with familiar faces.
Can we start with overnight care only?
Yes. Many families begin with overnight care and add daytime hours later, or the other way around.
Can 24-hour care help someone with dementia?
Yes. Round-the-clock coverage is often what keeps an elderly person with dementia safely at home, especially once sundowning or wandering after dark starts. Our memory care at home is built for exactly those hours.
Do we have to sign a long-term contract?
No. You can add hours, cut back, or stop, and we'll adjust the plan with you.
What if I just need a break?
That's what respite care is for: cover for an evening, a weekend or a week. Our guide to respite care in the South Bay explains how families set it up.
Memory Care
Questions families ask about dementia care at home
Who provides in-home dementia care in the South Bay?
Around The Clock Home Services provides non-medical dementia and Alzheimer's care at home across Redondo Beach, Torrance, Palos Verdes and the rest of the South Bay. Caregivers trained in memory care keep routines familiar, redirect gently and help with daily activities, by the hour, around the clock or live-in. Call (310) 940-0191 to talk it through.
Is dementia care at home better than a memory care facility?
Often, for a good while. A familiar home and one-on-one attention can ease confusion. When nights become unsafe or needs grow past what home can handle, a memory care community may be the safer choice, and we'll say so honestly. Around The Clock Home Services helps families weigh both options during a free in-home assessment.
Can someone with dementia stay at home safely?
Often, yes, with the right support. Many people with dementia or Alzheimer's do well in their own home for years with a consistent caregiver, a safe setup and a steady routine. We'll give you an honest read after the assessment.
Does Medicare cover dementia care at home?
Not the everyday kind. Medicare covers doctor visits, hospital stays and short-term skilled home health care, but it doesn't pay for ongoing non-medical help like supervision, bathing or meals. Hospice, which Medicare does cover, can add support near the end of life, and we work alongside hospice teams.
What if my parent refuses help?
That's very common. We usually start small, with a "friend who helps around the house" or a few hours a week, and let trust build. A trained caregiver is often accepted where a family member isn't.
Do you offer live-in care for dementia?
Yes. We schedule live-in care and awake 24-hour shift care. If your loved one is up and wandering most nights, we'll recommend awake shifts.
What if behavior becomes aggressive?
Agitation usually has a trigger: pain, fatigue, overstimulation. Our caregivers are trained to find it, calm things down, write it down, and loop in the family and the doctor quickly.
Will the same caregiver come every time?
Yes, as much as possible. Familiar faces matter even more with dementia, so we keep a small, steady team around the person you love.
Companionship Care
Questions families ask about companion care
Who offers companion care for seniors in Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach?
Around The Clock Home Services provides non-medical companion care across the South Bay, including Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and El Segundo. A familiar caregiver brings conversation, walks, light housekeeping and steady social contact, so your parent isn't alone all day. Visits can start at a few hours a week. Call (310) 940-0191 or use our contact form.
What's the difference between companion care and personal care?
Companion care is help around the person: company, conversation, light housekeeping and a steady routine. Personal care adds hands-on help with bathing, dressing, toileting and moving safely. Many families start with companion care and add personal care as needs change. Around The Clock Home Services provides both, and we'll tell you honestly which one fits.
Can a companion caregiver also help with bathing?
Companion care is non-hands-on. If personal care is needed, we move to a personal care plan, often with the same caregiver and an adjusted scope.
How few hours can we book?
Some families start with a single weekly visit of a few hours. We'll suggest a rhythm that is genuinely useful rather than selling hours you don't need.
Will it be the same companion every time?
That's the goal. A familiar face is the whole point of companion care, so we keep the same companion whenever we can, with a trained backup your loved one has met.
What if my parent says they don't need company?
That's very common. We often introduce the companion as help around the house, and the friendship grows from there. Many seniors warm up once they get to know the person.
Can companion care help a parent with early memory loss?
Yes. Routine, conversation and gentle activity are good for people in the early stages of dementia. As needs grow, we can move to memory care at home.
Respite Care
Questions families ask about respite care
Who provides respite care in Redondo Beach?
Around The Clock Home Services provides in-home respite care in Redondo Beach and across the South Bay. A trained caregiver covers for the family caregiver for an afternoon, a day, a week or longer, so you can work, rest or travel while your loved one stays safely at home. Call (310) 940-0191 or use our contact form.
Does Medicare pay for respite care at home?
Generally no. Medicare doesn't pay for ongoing non-medical respite at home, though the Medicare hospice benefit can cover short inpatient respite stays for people on hospice. Most families pay privately, and long-term care insurance or VA benefits sometimes help. Around The Clock Home Services gives you a free written quote before anything starts.
How short can a respite visit be?
Most visits are at least a few hours, so the caregiver and your loved one have time to settle in. Tell us what you need and we'll work with you.
Can respite care turn into ongoing care?
Yes, and it often does. Many families start with one afternoon a week and add hours as needs grow, up to 24 hour home care or live-in care.
Do you provide respite for a parent with dementia?
Yes. We match dementia-trained caregivers for respite, and keep the same person whenever we can. See our memory care at home for more.
Will it be the same caregiver each time?
We try hard to make it so. A familiar face makes respite easier on everyone.
Is it okay to feel guilty about taking a break?
It's very common, and it's okay. Taking care of your own well-being is how you keep caring for them.
Disability & Recovery Care
Questions families ask about disability and recovery care
Who provides home care after surgery or a hospital stay in the South Bay?
Around The Clock Home Services provides non-medical recovery care at home across the South Bay and Los Angeles County. Caregivers help with transfers, bathing, dressing, meals and medication reminders while home health handles the medical side. After a hospital discharge we can often start the same day or the next. Call (310) 940-0191.
Do you provide home care for adults with disabilities?
Yes. Around The Clock Home Services supports adults with disabilities at home with personal care, mobility help, meals, light housekeeping and companionship, on a schedule built around their routine. Care is non-medical and planned in writing with the person and their family. Call (310) 940-0191 or use our contact form to start with a free assessment.
Can you start on the day of discharge?
Frequently, yes. Call us as soon as a discharge date is set and we'll tell you immediately what we can staff.
Do you work with home health nurses?
Yes. We handle the non-medical daily support alongside skilled nursing or therapy visits, and we keep both sides informed.
Is short-term care welcome?
Absolutely. Two weeks of recovery care is a completely normal engagement for us.
Do you care for younger adults with disabilities?
Yes. Our care isn't only for seniors. We support adults of any age living with a physical or developmental disability.
Can the same caregiver stay through the whole recovery?
That's our goal. We keep a small, steady team, so your loved one isn't meeting a new person every day.
Still have a question?
You don't need the right words or a list of questions. Tell us what's going on at home, and we'll tell you honestly what kind of care fits, what it costs, and what we'd do first.
Get a free written quote, or call us now. A real person answers 24/7.