What Your Family Receives
Up to 76 Hours of In-Home Respite Care, Covered
A trained Assisting Hands caregiver comes to your home so you can rest, go to your own medical appointments, or simply step away. There is no copay and no cost to your family.
The 76-hour figure reflects Medicare’s respite allowance of $2,625 for the benefit year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. Annual totals can change from year to year based on Medicare policy and reimbursement rates.
A Dementia-Trained Nurse Through PocketRN
PocketRN provides the clinical side of the program:
- Your own dementia-trained registered nurse who checks in by phone or video
- 24/7 access to a care team
- Care coordination with existing doctors, specialists, medical equipment suppliers, etc.
- Medication review
- Family support, education, and one-on-one coaching
- Management of other chronic conditions like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, etc.
- Referrals to community sources
Assisting Hands provides non-medical care only. All nursing and clinical services come from PocketRN.
What the Caregiver Does During Your Respite Hours
Your covered hours are staffed by the same caregivers who provide our private in-home dementia care. During a block of respite time, a caregiver can help with bathing, dressing, and toileting, prepare a meal, offer companionship and cognitive engagement like music or photo albums, keep watch if your loved one tends to wander, and handle light housekeeping so you come home to a calm house.
How you spend the time is up to you. Some families use it for their own medical appointments, some for a standing weekly break, and some simply to sleep. Every caregiver is a W-2 employee, vetted through the Illinois Healthcare Worker Registry, and trained in-house by a dementia communication specialist. Read more about our caregivers
Do You Qualify?
To be eligible, the person with dementia must:
- Have a dementia diagnosis. If they do not have one yet, PocketRN can help you obtain one.
- Be enrolled in Traditional Medicare Parts A and B. Medicare Advantage plans do not qualify.
- Is NOT currently on hospice or a skilled nursing care resident (short-term stays are okay)
VA patients, dually eligible Medicaid patients, and palliative care patients can also be eligible.
For the in-home respite hours specifically, the person typically needs moderate to severe dementia and an unpaid family caregiver who is actively involved. That caregiver does not have to live in the same home.
Eligibility is determined by PocketRN, not by Assisting Hands. There is no obligation, and an eligibility review does not guarantee enrollment in GUIDE. If you are unsure whether you qualify, the enrollment call is the fastest way to find out, and it costs nothing.
How To Enroll
Call PocketRN at (872) 233-4490 and mention “Assisting Hands of Melrose Park.” Naming us ensures your covered respite hours are delivered by our caregivers. PocketRN will review eligibility, handle enrollment, and manage all Medicare requirements. Once you are approved, our office schedules your caregiver.
If you would rather talk it through with us first, call Assisting Hands at (708) 578-5663. We can walk you through the eligibility questions and what the respite hours look like in practice before you enroll.
Start With One Phone Call
Caring for someone with dementia is relentless work, and most families do not know this benefit exists. Call PocketRN at (872) 233-4490 and mention Assisting Hands of Melrose Park, or call our office at (708) 578-5663 if you would like to talk it through first.
