When families begin researching in-home care for an older adult, one of the first questions they ask is: what do caregivers actually do? The answer depends partly on the type of care involved. This post focuses specifically on personal care — the most hands-on category of home care services — what it includes, how it works in practice, and how it differs from other types of in-home support.
You can also find a broader overview of our care categories in an earlier post on areas of care.
What Personal Care Is
Personal care refers to professional assistance with the activities of daily living — the fundamental self-care tasks that most people perform independently but that can become difficult or unsafe with age, illness, or physical limitation.
These tasks are sometimes referred to in care planning as ADLs (Activities of Daily Living), and they form the foundation of what a personal care caregiver provides. Common personal care tasks include:
- Bathing and showering assistance
- Hair care, oral hygiene, and grooming
- Dressing and undressing
- Toileting and incontinence care
- Eating assistance and meal setup
- Mobility assistance and transfers using a gait belt or transfer device
- Positioning and repositioning for clients with limited mobility
The level of assistance involved varies considerably from one client to the next, and a good personal care arrangement is built around the individual — not a standardized set of tasks applied uniformly.
How Personal Care Works in Practice
One of the most important principles guiding personal care is preserving client independence wherever it can be safely maintained. The goal is never to do more than is necessary — it is to fill the specific gaps where a client needs support while allowing them to do as much as they can on their own.
In practice, this looks different for every person:
- One client may need a caregiver to help them into a shower chair, but can wash themselves independently once seated.
- Another may be fully capable of showering alone but wants a caregiver nearby as a safety precaution in case of a fall.
- A third may need comprehensive assistance with all aspects of bathing, dressing, and grooming.
None of these situations is better or worse than another — they simply reflect different needs. A personal care caregiver’s job is to meet each client where they are and adapt as those needs change over time.
This individualized approach is central to how we approach personal care services in Louisville. Before care begins, we work with the client and their family to understand exactly what level of support is needed and what the client wants to continue doing independently.
Transfers and Mobility Assistance
Mobility assistance is a significant component of personal care for many clients, and it deserves specific mention because it involves both safety and technique.
Transfers — moving a client from bed to wheelchair, wheelchair to shower chair, or similar — are performed using proper body mechanics and assistive equipment such as gait belts or mechanical transfer devices where appropriate. Caregivers providing this type of assistance are trained in safe transfer techniques to protect both the client and themselves.
For clients at risk of falls, having a caregiver assist with or supervise transfers and ambulation is one of the most direct ways personal care contributes to safety at home.
What Personal Care Does Not Include
It is worth being clear about what falls outside the scope of personal care, because families sometimes assume these services are bundled together.
Personal care does not include:
- Light housekeeping — tasks like laundry, vacuuming, dishes, or tidying are companion care or homemaker services, not personal care
- Companionship and social engagement — conversation, accompaniment to appointments, and social activities fall under companion care
- Skilled nursing or medical care — personal care is non-medical; wound care, medication administration, and clinical tasks require a licensed nurse
That said, many clients benefit from a combination of personal care and companion care, and those services can absolutely be provided together. It is simply a matter of talking with our team about what tasks your loved one needs support with, and we will put together a care plan that covers all of it.
Is Personal Care the Right Fit?
Personal care is typically the right choice when an older adult is having difficulty with one or more of the basic self-care tasks listed above — whether due to age-related physical changes, recovery from an illness or surgery, a progressive condition like Parkinson’s disease, or any other factor that affects daily functioning.
If you are unsure whether personal care, companion care, or a combination is the right fit for your situation, the best starting point is a conversation with our team. We offer free in-home assessments for families in Louisville to help determine what level and type of care makes sense before any commitment is made.
For families in Louisville considering custodial home care or personal care support for an aging loved one, we’re here to help you figure out the right next step.
Written by Brigid Coffey
