Nursing services
Senior Private Duty Nursing
Skilled nursing care for older adults with medically complex needs who want to remain safely at home.
Staying at home, safely
Most older adults would rather stay in their own home. When medical needs grow complex, that becomes a question of whether the right skilled care can come to them.
Private duty nursing is one answer to that question — for seniors whose needs genuinely require a licensed nurse, not simply help around the house.
Skilled nursing is not custodial care
This distinction matters, both clinically and for how services are funded, and it is often blurred in home-care advertising. We would rather be clear about it.
Skilled nursing
Provided by licensed RNs and LPNs. Assessment, clinical monitoring, medication administration, management of medical technology, and escalation to the provider when something changes.
Custodial / non-medical care
Bathing, dressing, meal preparation, housekeeping and companionship, provided by unlicensed caregivers. Valuable, often essential — but a different service, which we do not represent as nursing.
Common reasons families ask about senior nursing
Families usually call us at a transition point — after a hospital stay, after a diagnosis, or when the care a family has been giving is no longer something they can safely provide themselves.
- Complex medical needs that outpace what non-medical caregivers can provide
- Ongoing respiratory, feeding or infusion needs at home
- Medication regimens that require nursing administration and monitoring
- Caregiver exhaustion where skilled nursing coverage is needed for part of the day or night
- A wish to avoid or delay a move to a facility where it is safe to do so
Working with families and providers
Adult children are often coordinating care from a distance, between jobs and their own families. We try to make that easier: clear communication, documented observations, and a nurse who will tell you plainly how the week has gone.
How services may be authorized
Private duty nursing is usually authorized before care begins. A physician or other authorized provider orders the nursing care, the payer reviews the request, and the approved hours are written into the plan of care. We can walk families through what their own payer requires and what documentation is typically involved.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between skilled nursing and non-medical home care?
Skilled nursing is provided by licensed nurses and involves clinical assessment, medication administration, management of medical technology, and escalation to the ordering provider.
Non-medical home care — bathing, dressing, meals, housekeeping, companionship — is provided by unlicensed caregivers. It is valuable and often essential, but it is a different service and is not nursing. We describe our nursing services as nursing, and we will tell you plainly when what you are describing is a non-medical need.
Do you help with bathing, meals or housework?
Not as a service on its own. We provide skilled nursing, which is a different thing from personal care, homemaking or companionship.
A nurse will of course help the person they are caring for stay comfortable and clean during a shift. But if what your family mainly needs is help with bathing, dressing, meals or cleaning, a personal care or homemaking agency is the right fit, and we will say so rather than take the work on.
Can a nurse come overnight, or at weekends?
Yes. Private duty nursing is shift work, and shifts can be days, evenings, overnights or weekends.
Which of those we can actually fill depends on the nurses available near you. We will tell you honestly what coverage looks like in your area before you plan around it.
How do we get started?
Call us, or email our intake team with a short, non-clinical description of what you are looking for. There is no form to fill in.
We will arrange a conversation to understand the situation, explain what would be involved, and tell you honestly whether we are able to help — including the staffing realities in your area.
Please do not send medical records, diagnoses or detailed health history by email or fax. We will tell you how to share clinical information securely when the time comes.
More in our resources and FAQs.
Related nursing services
Private Duty Nursing
Extended-shift skilled nursing at home for children, adults and seniors with ongoing medical needs.
Adult Nursing
Ongoing nursing support for adults with complex or chronic medical needs.
Pediatric Nursing
Individualized skilled nursing for children with complex medical needs.
Talk to us about nursing care at home
Tell us what is going on and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, and what the next step would be.