Home Care Assistance Programs
Many patients with ME/CFS and FM are sufficiently disabled that they may frequently or periodically need some kind of in-home assistance with the daily tasks of life—such as buying food, preparing meals, laundry, house cleaning, picking up medication, etc. A bad relapse or crash can make even getting out of bed and doing the smallest task nearly impossible.
Home care assistants can often be hired, at an hourly rate, through home care agencies and visiting nurse associations. For those of limited means, payment for such services is sometimes available through public agencies assisting the disabled.
The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission’s Home Care Assistance Program provides homemaker services free of charge to income-eligible people with disabilities (ages 18–59, with no children in the household.) HCAP case managers determine eligibility and coordinate services to give individuals the resources they need to live independently. Homemaking Services are defined as direct help with meal preparation, grocery shopping, medication pickup, laundry, and light housekeeping.
MRC also provides Assistive Technology Services. Assistive technology is any device that improves a person’s ability to live more independently. Many different items are considered assistive technology, including adaptive computer equipment, walkers, hearing aids, memory enhancement aids, print magnifiers, wheelchairs, vehicle modifications, and more. Some home modifications and vehicle purchases also are covered.
Independent living centers are private, nonprofit, consumer-controlled organizations providing services and advocacy by and for people with all types of disabilities. They can provide Personal Care Assistants, funded by Medicaid. To be eligible for the program an individual must need a certain number of hours of personal care assistance per week and be Medicaid eligible.
Visiting nurse programs can provide skilled clinical care and, in some cases, light housekeeping assistance. This can be temporary – after a hospital stay, during a bad relapse or crash, when a patient is initially learning to manage a chronic illness – or longer term.
- The VNA Care Network provides services in Eastern and Central Massachusetts
- Visiting Nurse and Community Care operates in the greater Medford/Arlington area