Live-in care means that one caregiver remains in the care recipient's home for the duration of their shift. Separate sleeping quarters and a bed must be available for the caregiver to take rest breaks. With live-in care, we schedule one caregiver over a four-day period and another for the remaining three days. That means that two caregivers interact with your loved one weekly. Some home care providers schedule one caregiver over a 5-day period and another for the 2 days. There is a misconception that live-in caregivers are on duty 24-hours a day, that is simply not the case. In Ontario, live-in caregivers get a mandatory eight-hour sleep break during a 24-hour shift. In addition, they are entitled to a 4-hour break during the day and are allowed to leave the home if they choose. So typically, a live-in caregiver is on duty for 12-hours. If not having coverage during the 4-hour break period in the day is a concern, we can provide another caregiver to cover those hours. When your are billed for live-in care, a day rate is used which differs from 24-hour care which is billed hourly. If you decide to have coverage during the day break period, that time would be billed hourly.

Live-in Care Services

• 1 caregiver over 4 days (Mon- Thu)

• 1 caregiver over 3 days (Fri - Sun)

• 2 caregivers scheduled over 7 days

• 8-hour sleep breaks

• 4-hour daytime breaks

Advantages 

• Only one caregiver daily.

• Less costly than 24-hour care

Disadvantages 

• No coverage 8 hours overnight

• No coverage 4 hours daily

• Sleeping quarters & bed required

When individuals do not require support at night and can also be independent for a few hours during the day, live-in care is an excellent option. It is less expensive than 24-hour care and provides your loved one with the comfort of knowing that there is someone else with them in the home.

With 24-hour care services, we assign two caregivers to support your loved one over a 24-hour period. One caregiver assists them for 12 hours during the day and the other for 12 hours at night. There are no rest periods for caregivers with 24-hour care. This is the most significant difference between 24-hour care and live-in care. Live-in caregivers are entitled to an 8-hour sleep break and a 4-hour break during the day. With 24-hour care, there is always an alert caregiver ready to handle situations and emergencies. If you choose, you can use your discretion and allow the night caregiver some time for a sleep break. In a typical week, caregivers can work a maximum of four, 12-hour shifts or forty-eight hours. So our agency would arrange for two caregivers to cover four days a week and two additional caregivers for the remaining three days. Consistency of care is important to us, so we do our best to schedule the same four caregivers weekly. 24-hour home care services are billed hourly.

24-hour care benefits people that need intermittent assistance at night as well as throughout the day. It is also a necessity in situations when an individual's health condition requires constant monitoring and supervision. It ensures that they have a caregiver available to provide assistance at any time of the day or night.