When you hear the word home care, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? It can be a very confusing word. Many times, people aren't really sure what this word means. They don't know what it can do for their family member in need of services. Home care is actually quite common today. Many families are turning to it to help their loved ones out in their time of need. To help you gain a better understanding of what it can or cannot do, here are a few common misconceptions about home care.

Home care is going to cost you more than what institutional living will.

Oftentimes, individuals feel that institutions are the only choice due to cost. However, that isn't the case. Since home care is billed in hourly increments, you can control the amount of money you spend much better than paying a flat fee for institutional care. If your loved one only needs a few hours of help for the entire week, that's all you are going to pay for.

All agencies are identical.

Essentially, there are two distinct types of home agencies: non-medical and medical. Non-medical agencies are there to provide your loved one with personal care assistance, companionship and live-in care if needed. Medical agencies are involved with things like nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy. An agency like Argus Home Health Care offers both non-medical and medical services.

You are better off finding someone on your own, rather than using an agency.

A lot of families think that they are going to be able to find someone to care for their loved one without having to go through any agencies. They believe that they will be able to eliminate the agency fee and pay the worker more, so it is a win-win situation. However, agencies go beyond what you might think. They perform background checks, train their works and even make sure all of their certifications are in check. In the event a worker is injured on your property, they make sure that worker is covered with workers compensation insurance. As you can tell, they go above and beyond what an individual could do on their own by hiring someone to handle their loved ones needs.

If someone you love needs assistance, even for just an hour a day, you need to turn to a trusted home care worker to provide them with the personal care services they need.