How to Get Services Started

FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS HOMECARE SERVICE AREA

We help families get started with in-home care across the Bay Area, including in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and Alameda Counties.

Our Commitment

We know that choosing in-home care is a big decision. It requires trust, clarity, and honest guidance. At Familiar Surroundings Home Care, we're committed to walking alongside you—answering every question, addressing every concern, and helping you make the choice that's right for your loved one and your family.

Why Families Hesitate (And Why It's Normal)

Before we walk through the steps, let's acknowledge the real fears families have:

• "Will it feel invasive?" Having someone in your home is a big step. It takes a few visits to adjust.
• "Is it going to be expensive?" It's less than most people expect. And there are payment options.
• "How do I know when it's the right time?" When tasks are becoming harder and safety is a concern.
• "Will I feel guilty asking for help?" You shouldn't. You're doing the best thing for your loved one's independence and safety.

These feelings are all normal—and shared by families who say it was the best decision they made.

Step 1: The Conversation

The decision to explore in-home care often starts not with a conversation, but with observation. You notice changes: missed appointments or medications, decline in hygiene or nutrition, falls or near-misses, increased isolation or sadness, difficulty with housekeeping or errands, your loved one mentioning they're tired or overwhelmed.

For Adult Children

Timing matters. Have the conversation when you're both calm and there's time to talk. Not in a crisis. Not when frustrations are high.

Frame it as independence, not decline:

• ✗ "You're getting forgetful. You need help."
• ✓ "I want to make sure you can stay in your home. What would help you do that?"

Listen first:

• What does your parent want?
• What worries them most?
• What would make them feel safer?
• Have they thought about this before?

Address concerns directly:

• If they say "I don't need help," try: "What if we just explored options? No commitment."
• If they say "I can't afford it," try: "Let's talk to someone who knows all the payment options."
• If they say "A stranger in my home? No way," try: "What if we just met someone and heard how they can help?"

Keep the focus on their goals:

• "You've always valued staying at home. I want to help you do that."
• "Your independence matters to me. Let's figure out what supports that."
• "I'm worried about your safety. Can we explore this together?"

For Seniors Considering Care for Themselves

Ask yourself:

• What tasks are becoming harder or stressful?
• What worries keep you up at night?
• What would make you feel more secure?
• How much longer do you want to stay in your home?

What To Avoid

• Surprise interventions: Don't arrange things without their input.
• Shame or pressure: "You need help" feels like failure. "How can I support your independence?" feels different.
• Making it about you: It's about their needs, not your convenience.
• Waiting until crisis: Planning when things are stable is always better.

Step 2: Identifying What You Actually Need

Before calling an agency, having clarity helps. Discuss or reflect on:

• Daily Living: Who's managing meals? Medications? Personal care? Bathroom needs?
• Household: Who's doing housekeeping, laundry, yard work, paying bills, keeping appointments?
• Getting Around: Can your loved one drive safely? Who's taking them to appointments? Running errands?
• Social & Mental Health: How often are they getting out? Are they isolated? Do they have hobbies? How's their mood?
• Safety: Any falls or near-misses? Home hazards? Medical alert system? Can they get help in an emergency?

Prioritizing Needs

Don't try to solve everything at once. Write down your top 3–5 concerns:

• Most urgent (safety, health)
• Next priority (daily tasks)
• Lower priority (social activities, hobbies)

Start with the urgent ones. Add more support later as needs change.

Step 3: The Free In-Home Assessment

What Happens

• We schedule a time that works for you—usually 30 minutes to an hour.
• A care coordinator visits your home. Not a salesperson. A trained professional who's been doing this for years. Someone warm, patient, and genuinely interested in your situation.
• It's a conversation, not an interrogation. You tell us your health history, daily routines, what matters to you, your concerns, your budget, and what you hope for.
• We listen and observe. We're learning about your home environment, mobility and functional abilities, social situation and support network, and what resources you have.
• We walk through your home together. Looking for fall hazards, bathroom safety, kitchen accessibility, stairs and pathways, overall safety.
• We assess your strengths. What are you still doing well? What independence can we protect and support?
• We explain our services. How Familiar Surroundings Home Care works, what caregivers do, how we train and support them, what makes us different.
• We answer your questions. How much does this cost? Will I have the same caregiver? What if I'm not satisfied? What if my needs change?
• We provide a recommendation. Type and level of care, sample schedule, estimated cost, payment options.
• We leave you with options. You can move forward, take time to think, decide it's not right now, or ask more questions. Zero pressure.

What To Prepare

• Long-term care insurance
• Are you a Veteran?
• Recent medical history
• Names and numbers of family involved
• Questions you want to ask

Nothing fancy. Just the basics.

Step 4: Your Personalized Care Plan & First Caregiver

Creating Your Plan

If you move forward, we create a detailed care plan that includes:

• Your Preferences & Goals: What matters most to you, daily routines you want to keep, activities you enjoy, how you prefer to be supported.
• Specific Care Tasks: What the caregiver will help with, how to do each task safely, your preferences.
• Schedule: Days and times of visits, how to adjust if needs change, emergency protocols.
• Caregiver Information: Your primary caregiver, backup caregiver, their training and experience, how to communicate with them.
• Family Communication: How family members stay updated, who to contact with concerns, frequency of check-ins.

Matching You With a Caregiver

We consider your health needs and care requirements, personality and preferences, cultural or language needs, experience with your specific conditions, and consistency—ideally, the same caregiver. We listen to you:

• "I'd prefer a caregiver who speaks Spanish."
• "I need someone experienced with dementia."
• "I'd rather have a male/female caregiver."
• "I need someone patient and good with technology."

If the match isn't right, we change it. No obligation to stay with someone who doesn't feel like a good fit.

Your First Visit

It might feel a little awkward. That's completely normal.

Your caregiver will: Introduce themselves warmly, review your care plan, ask how you prefer things done, start with the most important tasks, check in about your comfort.

You should: Give feedback, ask questions, tell them what matters to you, give it a few visits before deciding—comfort builds over time.

Step 5: Ongoing Support & Adjustments

After your first visit, our care coordinator checks in regularly, we monitor how things are going, family can access updates via our online portal, we adjust the plan as needs change, and 24/7 support is always available.

When Needs Change

Life changes. Health changes. What worked for 6 months may need adjustment.

• Need more hours? We can add them.
• Need fewer hours? No penalty—adjust anytime.
• Different type of care needed? We update the plan.
• Caregiver change? We make it happen.

Your plan is alive and responsive to your actual life—not locked into a contract that doesn't fit.

Why Families Choose Familiar Surroundings Home Care

• Licensed & Professional: Licensed by California Department of Social Services, bonded and insured, employees (not contractors), we train and supervise them.
• Family-Owned Values: We treat clients like family, personalized care not one-size-fits-all, responsive to your needs.
• Experienced Team: Over 16 years serving Bay Area families, Registered Nurse on staff, and trained caregivers.
• Flexibility: No long-term contracts, adjust services as needed, pay for what you use, respect your independence.
• Transparency: Clear pricing with no hidden fees, honest assessment of what we can do, regular communication, technology to keep everyone informed.

Take the Next Step

You've already taken the hardest step just by considering it. The next step is free, straightforward, and will give you clarity and confidence about what's possible for your family.

Schedule Your Free In-Home Assessment Today »

No obligation. No pressure. No salesperson. Just honest guidance from people who've helped hundreds of Bay Area families make this decision.

Or call us directly:

• Santa Clara: (408) 979-9990
• San Mateo: (650) 353-9777
• Santa Cruz: (831) 480-3990
• Alameda: (510) 292-4010

We're here 24/7.

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IN SANTA CLARA, SANTA CRUZ, SAN MATEO, OR ALAMEDA COUNTIES

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