Frequently Asked Questions

Right at Home Boston Northwest has been in business since 2004 and remains independently owned and operated by Ted Bernhardt of Concord, MA

Right at Home Boston Northwest provides in-home caregiving services delivered by our professional team members. We provide customized care to your loved one’s exact care needs, and all our care is overseen by our clinical nursing staff. Our office can provide care for a few hours per week to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as well as Live-in Care. You control the schedule that you put in place, or if you would like assistance our nursing staff is glad to provide a suggested schedule for your family.

Additionally, our on-call coordinators are available nights, weekends and holidays so if an emergency arises, you can rest assured that our team is there to support you and your loved one. Our specialized services include hospice supportive care, personal care and ambulation assistance, medication compliance, maintaining nutrition and hydration, transportation to medical appointments and errands, light housekeeping, Alzheimer’s and cognitive supportive care, and respite care for family caregivers. 

You can learn more about our services on the Home Care Services page.

Our office is situated in Bedford Center.  We can provide care to adults living in the following towns:

Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Billerica, Burlington, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Westford, Wilmington, Winchester, Woburn, Acton, Boxborough, Groton, Littleton, Lowell, Tewksbury.

Yes, every Caregiver is a Right at Home Boston Northwest employee. To help ensure the safety and well-being of our clients, we perform a criminal history background clearance, office of inspector general check to review credentials, and then cover each of our caregivers with general liability and workman’s compensation insurance. This helps protect your loved one in case a Caregiver becomes injured in the client’s home. We also provide RN supervision to our Caregivers to ensure your loved one is receiving the best care possible. We are bonded in case of theft. We provide our home health aides (HHA), CNAs, personal care attendants (PCA), homemakers and companion caregivers with continuing education as well as ongoing training and support. Our training programs include Hospice Supportive Care, Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care, as well as monthly in-services through Right at Home University.

Yes, our local office will take the guesswork out of matching the right caregiver to you and your family. Caregivers are matched to you based on services required, client schedule requested, caregivers availability and logistics. However, you must be satisfied. We will always do our best to accommodate any requests you may have for a change in caregivers.

Our office works to find the best team possible to assist your loved one. Continuity of care is of utmost importance to us. We understand that a strong rapport and trust with a caregiver is vital to a successful home care experience. We take into consideration the schedule and hours per week to determine how many caregivers are assigned. If your loved one receives care for many hours in a day or at different times of the day throughout the week, it may be necessary to schedule more than one caregiver in each week. If your family requires multiple caregivers, our goal is the same: we want you to be satisfied and happy. We'll do what it takes to make sure we achieve that goal.

Our caregivers can assist in reminding individuals to take their medications. In fact, medication reminders are one of our most requested services. We can also report any side effects and assist with bubble packs. Medication non-compliance is one of the major factors of hospitalization in our elders due to multiple psychological and physical challenges and the amount of medications being prescribed per individual. Contact us today to determine if we can provide the exact service that will best support your medication needs.

You can change the number of hours or type of service we provide your loved one whenever it's necessary. We understand the care situation can quickly change, so we are flexible. Plus, you're never bound to a long-term contract, so you can discontinue your relationship with Right at Home Boston Northwest at your discretion.

Right at Home Boston Northwest uses several tools to track our caregivers. First, we use a system called telephony. This requires the caregiver to use the clients home phone to call a toll-free number which registers when they arrive and leave a client’s home. In addition, some caregivers use an App from their phone that registers where they are to verify time and attendance. Also, our itemized invoices show hours worked  after services are complete, via mail or email. This lets you ask any questions about time or date of care, before your payment is due.

No. You don't need pre-authorization, pre-qualification, certification or even a prescription for Right at Home Boston Northwest’s services. You choose the services you want, when to start those services and how often those services are used. If you require assistance with billing a private insurance policy (such as long-term care insurance) for our services, we have a system in place for this.

Cost for private duty home care services at Right at Home Boston Northwest can range from $29.00 per hour to $45.00 per hour for specialty 1-hour care services. Live in services are available for clients who primarily sleep through the night but need 24 x 7 care and are offered at a reduced rate. We are happy to provide a quote based on our clinical assessment. 

While Medicare will provide in-home skilled nursing services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, or wound therapy services, they do not pay for hourly personal care services that Right at Home Boston Northwest provides. Long-Term Care Insurance will typically reimburse for the services provided by Right at Home Boston Northwest. As an added service, we handle sending the invoice and any supporting documentation to your long-term care provider. We also support programs like the Veterans Aid and Attendance Program, which is an additional pension benefit paid directly to Veterans and/or surviving spouses who require our services.  We are also approved vendors for the local state home care program through Minuteman Senior Services and Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley.

No. You (or an authorized representative) are only invoiced after the completion of services. Usually, this happens weekly. You never have to pay caregivers directly. And you'll never be asked to pay an additional fee to any employee.

You may call Right at Home Boston Northwest during normal business hours: Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:00pm with any customer service questions including care, schedules, invoices, etc. You may also call Right at Home Boston Northwest after hours 5:00pm-8:30am, on weekends and on holidays for emergencies. Right at Home Boston Northwest employs an on-call support coordinator to answer your questions, comments and concerns after hours.  Our office phone number is: (781) 275-1400

Selecting someone to care for your loved one can be an overwhelming task. We believe the process of selecting someone to care for your loved one should be simple and transparent.  We believe you should be part of your loved one's care, but not have to actively manage all aspects of their care. The main difference between an agency and a registry/private aide comes down to managing the caregiver.  At Right at Home Boston Northwest, you have our whole agency behind you supporting you every step of the way. We are experts in senior care services and can help your loved one age in place. From three hours per shift to 24 hours seven days per week, we have the capability of providing excellent care with positive outcomes.  

We adhere to all applicable federal and state guidelines related to privacy of personal and health care information. This starts once we have a formal service agreement, before a caregiver even comes to your family member's home. The written service agreement stipulates the exact restrictions on the use of your information, which clarifies that unauthorized individuals will not be given access to information without a client's or their legally authorized representative's formal consent.

Your information is never sold to a third party under any circumstances. In fact, only the office personnel and caregivers who are directly involved in your service will have access to information related to the care of your loved one.

To engage with Right at Home Boston Northwest’s services, please call Right at Home directly at 781-275-1400 or contact us online any time of day or night. We will arrange a time to visit you, your family and/or any authorized representative to fully discuss your home care situation and how Right at Home Boston Northwest might help. Together, we'll go over the care your family needs and the care we provide.  Once this is complete, our seasoned schedulers will choose your caregivers put together a schedule for your approval. Usually, care can begin within a matter 24 hours or less!