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Specialized Care

ALS Home Care in Southeast Michigan

ALS — also called Lou Gehrig's disease — moves on its own schedule, and the equipment list grows fast: lift, BiPAP, AAC tablet, feeding-tube supplies, suction. Our caregivers step into homes where the family is already carrying all of that, and bring the steady hands, calm pace, and respite that lets the well spouse breathe.

Caregiver in a teal polo helping a senior man with ALS sip from a flexible-straw cup in his living room armchair

What Changes at Home

ALS care is equipment, timing, and the long quiet hours between

Families navigating ALS quickly learn that the diagnosis comes with a moving target. The transfer that worked last month needs a Hoyer lift this month. The fork your loved one held in March is too heavy in June. The hours when the speech-language pathologist or hospice nurse are in the home are short — the rest of the day belongs to the family.

A trained caregiver in the home doesn't replace the ALS clinic team, the physical therapist, or hospice. We carry the long hours in between — the safe transfer at 2 a.m., the slow careful meal, the patient setup of an AAC device, the repositioning that prevents a pressure wound, and the predictable respite block that lets the primary family caregiver sleep eight uninterrupted hours.

Our ALS Care Approach

Six areas where a trained caregiver moves the needle

Every ALS care plan we write covers these six areas, adapted to the stage of disease, the ALS clinic's instructions, and what your loved one's day actually looks like right now.

Transfers, Repositioning & Skin Integrity

As limb weakness progresses, every transfer matters. Caregivers use a Hoyer or sit-to-stand lift on your therapist's plan, reposition every two hours to protect skin, and pad pressure points before they become wounds.

Communication & AAC Device Support

When speech tires or fades, we set up the tablet, eye-gaze device, or letter board your speech-language pathologist recommended, give your loved one the time they need, and never finish their sentences for them.

Safe Swallowing & Hydration

We follow the SLP's diet texture and thickened-liquid plan, slow the pace of every bite, watch for coughing or wet voice, and report changes that may signal the family should ask about a swallow re-evaluation.

BiPAP / Respiratory Comfort Support

Non-medical caregivers do not adjust ventilator settings, but we help position for comfort, place and remove the BiPAP mask on your loved one's preference, as the family directs, and call 911 when distress is real.

Range of Motion & Contracture Prevention

Daily passive range-of-motion through the schedule your PT/OT set keeps joints loose, reduces pain, and protects function in the arm and leg that still works. We document tolerance every shift.

Caregiver Respite for the Spouse

ALS exhausts the well spouse first. We schedule predictable respite blocks so the primary family caregiver can sleep, see a doctor, or simply sit on the porch — without the house holding its breath.

A Typical Day

What an ALS day looks like with the right help

  1. 7:30 a.m. — caregiver arrives, helps the spouse hand off the BiPAP mask, repositions in bed, and begins the long careful transfer to the power chair using the Hoyer lift the PT trained on.
  2. 8:30 a.m. — bathing and dressing at the pace your loved one chooses, with rest breaks every few minutes. Skin is checked at sacrum, heels, and elbows.
  3. 9:30 a.m. — breakfast on the SLP's texture plan (often pureed or mechanical soft), thickened liquids, chin tucked, slow pace.
  4. 10:30 a.m. — AAC tablet set up on the lap tray for a phone call with the grandkids. Caregiver gives time, never finishes sentences.
  5. 12:00 p.m. — gentle passive range of motion through the schedule the PT set, light lunch, repositioning every two hours through the afternoon.
  6. All shift — visit notes documented and shared with family. The spouse takes a real nap. That is not a small thing.

Our Standard

Held to the 12-Mile Care Standard

Every ALS caregiver we send is held to the 12-Mile Care Standard — the same five-principle, named methodology we apply to every client in Southeast Michigan. Skills are verified in real time by a Registered Nurse before the first ALS shift, including Hoyer transfer technique, two-person assist, BiPAP mask placement on the client's direction, and techniques the family has authorized.

The 12-Mile Care Standard

What it costs

ALS home care pricing in Southeast Michigan

Early-stage ALS support typically falls within the Personal Care range among Southeast Michigan home care providers, averaging $31 - $36/hr. As the care plan grows to include two-person transfers, BiPAP support, swallowing supervision, and AAC setup, pricing typically moves into the Specialized Care range licensed home care agencies in Southeast Michigan typically charge, averaging $35 - $42/hr. For 24-hour situations, most ALS families move to live-in care at $400 - $500/day.

Run your exact schedule through our cost calculator to see weekly and monthly numbers, or contact us for a free consultation.

FAQ

ALS Home Care — Frequently Asked Questions

Hands-on ALS home care in Southeast Michigan typically runs $31 - $36/hr for Personal Care and $35 - $42/hr for Specialized Care as the disease progresses and transfers become two-person. For 24-hour situations, many ALS families move to live-in care at $400 - $500/day. Run your exact schedule through our cost calculator or contact us for a free care consultation.
Affordable Home Care is a non-medical agency. Our caregivers do not adjust ventilator settings, perform sterile trach suctioning, or operate feeding-tube pumps as a nursing task — those are skilled-nursing activities and require home health, hospice, or private-duty nursing. Our caregivers help with positioning, comfort, mask placement on your loved one's direction, and the calm, attentive presence that surrounds those medical tasks.
Yes. As ALS progresses, most families need overnight coverage and eventually round-the-clock care. We offer hourly overnights, multi-shift 24-hour rotation, and live-in care depending on the home setup and how many nighttime repositions or BiPAP adjustments are realistic.
Care notes are documented every shift and shared with the family, who can forward them to the multidisciplinary ALS clinic team or hospice. When hospice enrolls, our caregivers work alongside the hospice nurse, aide, social worker, and chaplain — handling the long hours between hospice visits with the same equipment and routines the hospice team established.
Most families have a caregiver in the home within 24–72 hours of the first call. After a free consultation we build the care plan, match a caregiver experienced with progressive neurological disease, and walk through transfer technique and any AAC or BiPAP equipment before the first shift.
Yes. ALS is one of the most common qualifying diagnoses for long-term care insurance benefits. We complete the daily care logs many policies require, coordinate with the insurer's care coordinator, and submit invoices in the format your policy accepts. See our long-term care insurance guide for the claims process.