Hospice Support Care in Hartford, CT
Non-medical hospice support — homemaker-companion services that complement hospice nursing during a parent's final months at home.
No sales pressure. We'll tell you straight if we're not a fit.
You were sitting in the parking garage at Hartford Hospital after the palliative care meeting, and everything the team said made sense in the room but felt impossible once you were alone. Your parent was coming home. Hospice would send nurses. But the hours in between, the long quiet stretches, the nights, the moments that aren’t medical but still need a calm and steady person there — nobody had a clear answer for that. That gap is exactly what we fill.
Private Duty Aides provides private-pay, non-medical hospice support care for Hartford families who need someone present and reliable at home alongside the hospice team. We work with families across Hartford’s neighborhoods, from the West End to Blue Hills to Asylum Hill, and we understand what this period actually looks like day to day.
Hospice support care is non-medical care provided at home during the end-of-life period. Our caregivers are not nurses and they don’t replace the hospice team. What they do is provide a steady, calm presence during the hours when the hospice nurse isn’t there, helping with personal comfort, light hygiene, positioning, and just being with your parent so they’re never alone in a quiet house.
Day to day, that can look like helping with mouth care and sips of water, sitting quietly and reading aloud, assisting with transfers when comfort is the goal rather than rehabilitation, and keeping the space calm and tidy. For families in Asylum Hill, Frog Hollow, or the North End who are managing this from their own homes nearby, our caregiver can also be the person who calls you immediately when something changes, so you’re not second-guessing every hour. Many families coming home from Hartford Hospital after a palliative care transition need this kind of consistent, non-medical support between hospice nurse visits.
Because Private Duty Aides was founded by a working nurse, our caregivers understand clinical context without overstepping it. They know how to communicate with the hospice team, what to document, and when to call. That background shapes how we hire, train, and match people for this specific kind of work.
Nurse-founded, and it shows
Our agency was started by a working nurse who saw firsthand what families going through end-of-life care at home actually needed. That clinical foundation shapes everything from how we screen caregivers to how we brief them before they walk through your door.
Built for this specific service
Hospice support care requires a different kind of person than most home care. We look for caregivers with real end-of-life experience, emotional steadiness, and the ability to take direction from a hospice team. We don’t send a generalist and hope for the best.
We answer when you call
Things change fast during this time. If something shifts at two in the morning, you need a person, not a voicemail. We stay reachable because the families we work with can’t afford to wait until business hours for an answer.
We know Hartford County
We understand the discharge process at Hartford Hospital, the geography of the city’s neighborhoods, and the particular pressures that Hartford families face when a parent is coming home under hospice care. This isn’t general knowledge — it’s specific experience.
How it works
You tell us what’s happening. No intake forms, no pressure. We listen, ask a few questions, and give you a clear picture of what we can do and how quickly.
For hospice support, the match matters more than almost any other service. We consider temperament, experience with end-of-life care, and your parent’s specific situation, not just who’s available on the schedule.
Often the same day for Hartford families in urgent situations. We know that when someone comes home from Hartford Hospital under hospice care, waiting a week isn’t an option.
You hear from us regularly. If something changes with your parent’s condition or the hospice team’s instructions, we adjust quickly and keep you informed every step of the way.
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
On a typical day, a hospice support caregiver might help with mouth care, gentle repositioning for comfort, light personal hygiene, and keeping the room calm and clean. They sit with your parent, offer water or ice chips when appropriate, and provide quiet company. They don't administer medications or perform clinical procedures, but they do follow the hospice team's care instructions and communicate clearly if anything changes. The goal is that your parent is never alone and never uncomfortable in the ways a caring, attentive presence can prevent.
In most cases we can have a caregiver in place within 24 to 48 hours of your first call. For families with urgent situations following a discharge from Hartford Hospital, we do everything we can to start the same day. The sooner you call us, the sooner we can do the matching work carefully rather than rushing it. If you know a discharge is coming, even calling us the day before helps us get ahead of it.
Private Duty Aides is a private-pay agency, which means we don't bill Medicare, Medicaid, or insurance. The hospice benefit through Medicare does cover nursing visits, medications, and some medical equipment, but it generally does not cover the kind of extended non-medical companion presence we provide. Many families pay out of pocket for our services to fill that gap. We're transparent about costs from the first conversation, so there are no surprises.
A home health aide typically works under a medical care plan to assist with rehabilitation or skilled care tasks, often billed through insurance or Medicare. Hospice support care is non-medical and focused on comfort, presence, and quality of remaining time rather than recovery. Our caregivers don't perform clinical procedures, but they're specifically selected and briefed for end-of-life situations and know how to work alongside a hospice nursing team. The difference in focus is significant, and it shapes who we choose for this work.
Yes, and for hospice support care, we consider this the most important part of our job. We ask about your parent's background, temperament, what kind of presence they respond to, and any cultural or personal preferences. We also ask about your family, because this period involves you just as much. We'd rather take an extra few hours to make the right match than place someone quickly and have it not feel right in those first tender days at home.
We keep backup coverage in place for exactly this reason. If your regular caregiver is sick or unavailable, we contact you directly and introduce you to the substitute before they arrive when time allows. We do not leave a gap in coverage during hospice care without communicating with you first. You'll always know who is coming to your parent's home and why, and we'll give you as much notice as we possibly can.
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No sales pressure. We'll tell you straight if we're not a fit.
Private Duty Aides — Hartford, CT
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