Companion Care in Lyme, CT
Non-medical companionship, conversation, and daily activity support for seniors living at home.
No sales pressure. We'll tell you straight if we're not a fit.
You drove out Route 156 on a Sunday afternoon, knocked on the door, and found your mom sitting exactly where you left her the week before. The TV was on. Lunch dishes were still in the sink. She smiled when she saw you, but that smile told you something you’d been quietly dreading for months. Lyme is beautiful country, but it’s also quiet, and for an older adult alone in a house set back from the road, that quiet gets heavy fast.
Companion care is the answer a lot of families reach for first, and for good reason. It’s real company, a steady presence, light help around the house, and someone who actually shows up. We’re Private Duty Aides, a nurse-founded home care agency serving Lyme and all of New London County.
We’d be glad to talk through what your family needs. No forms, no pressure.
Companion care is for the parent who doesn’t need medical help right now but genuinely struggles when they’re on their own for long stretches. That means a caregiver who comes regularly, sits with them, has a real conversation, and makes sure they eat a decent meal. It also means light housekeeping, help with errands, rides to appointments, and just being a consistent face they can count on.
Day to day, the work looks ordinary: morning coffee together, a walk if the weather cooperates, a trip to the post office in Lyme, or just keeping someone company while they do a puzzle. For families across all areas of Lyme, the value isn’t any single task. It’s that their parent isn’t sitting alone for hours wondering when someone will call. After a discharge from Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, companion care also provides a reassuring presence during those first weeks at home, when being alone can feel especially disorienting.
Because we’re nurse-founded, we know where companion care ends and where something more starts. Our founder built this service with that line clearly in mind, so your caregiver isn’t guessing, and neither are you.
Nurse-founded. Our founder is a working nurse who saw firsthand what families dealing with an isolated parent actually needed. She built this service around that reality, not around what’s easy to deliver.
Matched for companion care. We don’t just fill a slot. We brief our caregivers on your parent’s background, preferences, and personality before day one. That preparation makes a real difference in how quickly a relationship forms.
We stay reachable. When something shifts in your parent’s companion care, you shouldn’t have to leave three voicemails. You call us, we answer, and we work it out with you directly.
We know Lyme. We understand New London County, the discharge process at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, and the particular rhythms of families in this part of Connecticut. That local knowledge makes the whole thing smoother.
How it works
Why families choose us
Every aide is trained and supervised through an RN’s lens — not just placed and forgotten.
Personality fit matters more than skill on paper. We match for temperament, pace, and patience.
No franchise rotation. You work with the people who run this agency — direct, accessible, accountable.
Most families are matched with a caregiver within 24 to 48 hours. When something shifts at home, we move quickly.
We build a daily structure around your parent’s rhythm — meals, walks, evenings — and protect it.
You hear from us, not just the aide. Updates on appetite, sleep, mood, mobility — the things that matter.
Every caregiver clears a multi-step screening — background check, reference checks, and an in-person interview with our RN founder — before they're ever placed in a home.
Why families trust us
Private Duty Aides is nurse-founded. Every caregiver clears a multi-step screening — a background check, reference checks, and an in-person interview with our RN founder — before they are ever placed in a home. You get the same consistent caregiver, matched by a nurse, not whoever happens to be available.
Common questions
A typical visit might include making and sharing a meal, light tidying up, conversation, help with a grocery run or an errand in town, and just being present. The exact shape of each visit depends on what your parent enjoys and what they need help with. Some days it's a walk and a cup of tea. Some days it's driving to an appointment and waiting with them. The consistency of the person matters as much as any specific task.
In most cases, we can have a caregiver in place within 48 hours of your call, and often sooner if the situation is urgent. Discharge from Lawrence + Memorial is one of the most common reasons families contact us, and we're used to moving quickly in those circumstances. If you know a discharge date is coming, calling us a few days early gives us the best chance of having someone ready when your parent gets home.
Medicare does not cover non-medical companion care. Most private health insurance plans don't either. Long-term care insurance policies sometimes include companion care, so it's worth checking your policy language. We're a private-pay agency, which means families pay directly. We're upfront about that from the start so there are no surprises.
A home health aide typically provides hands-on personal care like bathing, dressing, and grooming, often under a medical order. Companion care focuses on company, conversation, light household help, and everyday tasks that keep someone's day feeling normal. The two services can complement each other, and some families need both. Because we're nurse-founded, we can help you figure out which fits your situation or whether a combination makes sense.
Yes, and for companion care this is one of the most important parts of our process. Before we introduce a caregiver, we ask questions about your parent's background, interests, temperament, and routine. We take that seriously because a good personality match is what turns a caregiver visit into something your parent actually looks forward to. If the first match doesn't click, we'll find someone who does.
We notify you as early as possible and arrange coverage with a caregiver who's already been briefed on your parent's situation. We don't send someone who's walking in cold. Consistency matters to us, and while no agency can promise zero schedule changes, we work hard to keep disruptions rare and to handle them in a way that doesn't leave your family scrambling.
Learn more about this service
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Companion Care near Lyme
No sales pressure. We'll tell you straight if we're not a fit.
Private Duty Aides — Lyme, CT
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