What happens during a home care assessment in Southeast Michigan?
Key facts
- Typical duration
- 60–90 minutes
- Cost of assessment
- Free — no obligation
- Who conducts it
- Care coordinator (often RN or MHA director)
- Output
- Written care plan + shift schedule + cost estimate
- Signing
- No contract signed at assessment
Every reputable Southeast Michigan agency does a free assessment before starting care. The visit runs 60–90 minutes at your loved one’s home. The care coordinator watches how the person moves through the space, not just what they say — the walk from bedroom to bathroom tells you more than any questionnaire.
What gets covered: the 6 activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, transfers, toileting, continence, eating); the 8 instrumental activities (meds, meals, phone, transportation, laundry, housekeeping, shopping, finances); current medications and how they are actually being taken; fall history and home hazards; cognitive baseline; and the family’s day-to-day pain points.
The output is a written care plan naming specific tasks, a shift schedule matched to when help is actually needed (not just the default 9-to-5), a recommended service band (Companion, Personal, Specialized, or Live-in), and a cost estimate using typical 2026 Southeast Michigan agency rates ($27–$42/hr depending on band, or $400–$500/day for live-in). Nothing is signed at the assessment — you review the plan and decide.
Come prepared with the medication list, discharge paperwork from any recent hospital stay, any LTC insurance policy declaration page, and a list of what already went wrong in the last 30 days. That short list is where the care plan starts.
For the full breakdown, see the cornerstone: Choosing a Home Care Agency guide.
Related questions
- Is the assessment free?
- Yes — every reputable Southeast Michigan agency does the initial assessment at no cost and with no obligation.
- Do I need to be there in person?
- Yes if you are the decision-maker. Long-distance children join by phone or video during the visit.
- How soon after the assessment can care start?
- Typically 24–48 hours after the family approves the care plan. Same-day starts are possible in urgent discharge situations.
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