In this day and age, knee and hip replacements have become so common. This is part of why we are all living longer. It used to be that a hip fracture or bad knees would significantly reduce quality of life. Recovery can be made much easier with a caregiver and the right help at home.
After a knee or hip replacement, most Moorestown seniors come home with a walker, a list of medications, and instructions for physical therapy. The first two weeks are the highest-risk window for a fall or a readmission. In-home care during that window helps with bathing safely, getting to and from the bathroom at night, preparing meals, managing the medication list, and getting your loved one to outpatient physical therapy. A trained caregiver can be in the home for a few hours a day, overnight only, or around the clock depending on what the recovery calls for. We will give you a cost over the phone after we hear the situation.
What the first two weeks look like at home
The discharge paperwork from Virtua Marlton or Jefferson Cherry Hill lays out the basics: weight-bearing restrictions, the physical therapy schedule, the new prescriptions, the surgical-site care, and the warning signs that mean call the surgeon. The paperwork does not say how your mother is going to get from the bedroom to the bathroom at 2 a.m. on a walker she has used for three days. It does not say what she eats for breakfast on a morning she does not feel like eating. It does not say who is in the house when the daughter goes back to work on day four.
A trained caregiver is the answer to those questions. Our caregivers help with the daily routines: bathing or sponge bath, dressing around the surgical site, breakfast and lunch, light housework, and getting to the kitchen and the bathroom safely. They do not administer prescriptions, but they set out the morning medications and remind your loved one to take them. They watch for the warning signs the surgeon mentioned. They get your loved one to the PT appointment and back.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Re-Engineered Discharge (RED) toolkit identifies the days right after a discharge as the highest-risk window for readmission. A trained caregiver in the home through that window is one of the most effective ways to avoid the second hospital trip.
How a Moorestown family decides on the level of care
There are three common arrangements after orthopedic discharge:
Part-time hourly care. A caregiver for four to six hours a day, usually mornings, for the first one to three weeks. Appropriate when a spouse or adult child is home overnight and the senior just needs help through the heaviest hours.
Overnight-only care. A caregiver in the home from evening through morning, when nighttime falls are the biggest risk. Appropriate when the family is around during the day but no one is in the house at night.
Around-the-clock or live-in care. A caregiver or rotating pair in the home for the full recovery window. Appropriate after a complicated surgery, for a senior who lives alone, or when the family is far away.
Choosing among the three is not obvious from outside the home. That is what the no-cost consultation is for. The consultation can happen over the phone or in the home. We listen, ask questions, and recommend. Sometimes the answer is part-time. Sometimes the answer is heavier for two weeks and lighter after that.
How the care actually works
Your dedicated Client Care Coordinator handles the day-to-day. She is the person you call when the morning PT appointment shifts. She arranges the caregiver swap if the match needs to change. She works with our knowledgeable Director of Nursing, Carol Feliciano, BSN, RN, who runs the in-home Assessment and writes the Plan of Care after you decide to move forward with care.
The Plan of Care names what the caregiver does, when, and what to escalate. It is reviewed at 30 days and 60 days. After an orthopedic recovery, most Plans step down from heavier care to lighter care as the senior gets steadier on the walker. That is the right outcome.
We had a gentleman come home after a hip replacement in Marlton whose family lived out of state. He was so grateful for the peace of mind and care at home, and fully expected it to be temporary. The companionship and support made him realize he needed ongoing assistance at home. He scaled back the hours, and he still has a caregiver come to his home twice a week.
Cost: what we can tell you on the phone
Costs vary with the level of care and the schedule. Part-time hourly is the least expensive starting point. Overnight-only sits in the middle. Live-in is often less than 24-hour because the overnight is paid as sleep hours. Around-the-clock is the highest because two or three caregivers cover awake shifts so someone is on duty every minute.
After the consultation, we will give you a cost over the phone. The number depends on the level of care, the schedule, and whether the case calls for any specialized training. We do not print prices on the page because the right number is the one that matches the situation, not a brochure average.
Long-term care insurance covers home care for many Moorestown families. We accept long-term care insurance and bill the carrier directly when the policy allows. Veterans and surviving spouses may also qualify for VA Aid and Attendance benefits, the VA Aid and Attendance page walks through eligibility. Medicare does not pay for non-medical home care.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon after a Virtua Marlton or Jefferson Cherry Hill discharge can care start?
Most Moorestown families have care in place within a few days of the first call, and faster when the case is urgent and a trained caregiver is available. Our staff will tell you on the first call where the timeline is likely to land for your situation.
Will the caregiver get my parent to physical therapy?
Yes, when transportation is part of the Plan of Care. Hourly caregivers commonly drive clients to outpatient PT in Moorestown, Marlton, or Mount Laurel. Live-in arrangements usually do not include daily driving, those tend to be set up around in-home presence, so when PT requires regular driving, we build the schedule with that in mind.
Does insurance pay for this?
Medicare does not pay for non-medical home care. Long-term care insurance often does. We bill long-term care carriers directly when the policy allows. Veterans and surviving spouses may qualify for VA Aid and Attendance. Medicaid waiver programs do not apply to our services.
How long do most ortho recoveries need care?
The heaviest support is the first two weeks. Many families step down to lighter hours after that. Eight to ten weeks is common for a hip; six to eight weeks for a knee. The 60-day Plan of Care review is when we recommend the step-down.
Are your caregivers vetted?
Every caregiver is interviewed, background-checked, and trained in Comfort Keepers' Interactive Caregiving approach. The Cherry Hill office is NIHCA-accredited.
If your loved one is coming home to Moorestown, Marlton, or anywhere in Camden or Burlington County after a knee or hip replacement, call Comfort Keepers of Cherry Hill at (856) 857-6120. The consultation is no-cost. We will listen, give you a straight answer about the level of care that fits, and walk through the next steps. Our work is to elevate the human spirit, one home and one family at a time.
