What executive directors and owners ask us.

The basics

• What does Balanced Home Care do?

  Balanced Home Care places a dedicated care team inside independent living communities in Michigan. Our caregivers and a site supervisor work from a small office in the building, and residents who need help with daily living hire us directly. We have cared for Michigan seniors since 2009 and are based in Troy.

• What is on-site care?

  On-site care is non-medical personal care from a home care team that is based inside an independent living community every day, instead of being sent from an office across town. Read how the on-site model works.

• What services do you provide?

  Morning and evening care, bathing and dressing, medication assistance, escorts to meals and activities, meal tray delivery, safety checks day or night, incontinence care, laundry and light housekeeping, companionship visits and hourly one-on-one care.

• Do you provide medical care?

  No. We provide non-medical personal care only. Skilled care comes from the home health and hospice agencies your residents choose, and we work alongside them.

• Is Balanced Home Care assisted living?

  No. Balanced Home Care is a home care company, not an assisted living provider. In Michigan, assisted living is delivered in state-licensed homes for the aged and adult foster care homes. Independent living communities are not licensed as either, and independent living is where our on-site teams work. Our model keeps housing and care separate: you provide the apartment and your usual services, we are a separate company that residents hire directly, and every resident stays free to choose any provider, or none. Your counsel can confirm how Michigan's licensing rules apply to your building.

Cost and agreements

• What does this cost the community?

  Nothing. We lease our office from you at fair-market rent, and residents pay us directly for the services they choose. Your community is never billed.

• Who pays for the care?

  Residents do. Each resident contracts with us for the services they choose. Services are billed every four weeks and there is no long-term commitment.

• Do you ask for an exclusive arrangement?

  We ask for nothing that limits a resident's choice. Residents may always choose another provider, or none.

• What insurance do you carry?

  We carry general liability, professional liability and workers' compensation coverage, and we name your community as additional insured.

Residents and families

• Do our residents have to use Balanced Home Care?

  No. Every resident keeps the right to choose any provider, or none. Our job is to be the easy choice because we are already in the building and already known to your staff.

• How does a resident start care?

  Care starts with a free assessment. We build a plan around the resident's routine and adjust it as needs change.

• Can a resident buy a short visit instead of a block of hours?

  Yes. Because our team is already in the building, residents can buy short visits and monthly care packages sized to what they need. Hourly one-on-one care is available too.

• How do families know a visit happened?

  Our Confirmed Care system places a tag at each resident's door. Caregivers scan it at every visit, which creates a time-stamped record.

Staffing and accountability

• Who employs the caregivers?

  We do. Every caregiver is a Balanced Home Care employee. We hire, train, schedule, insure and supervise them.

• Who is our point of contact?

  A site supervisor who works in your building and meets with your team on a regular schedule.

• What happens when a scheduled task is missed?

  Our supervisor is alerted by the Confirmed Care system and acts on it.

• Will you work with our home health and hospice partners?

  Yes. We provide non-medical personal care only, and we coordinate with whichever skilled agencies your residents use.

Dementia training

• How are your caregivers trained to understand dementia?

  With a simulator we built ourselves. Walk in Their Footsteps uses augmented reality headsets to simulate advanced dementia, so a caregiver experiences first-hand what a resident lives with all day. We created the program to train Balanced Home Care caregivers, we own it, and we run sessions for our caregivers today. See Walk in Their Footsteps.

• Can our community's own staff go through the dementia simulator?

  Yes. Communities we serve get Walk in Their Footsteps sessions for their own staff at no charge.

Starting and changing providers

• How long does it take to start?

  Most communities go from signed agreement to first day of care in about 60 days. See the transition plan.

• We already have a provider on-site. Can you still help?

  Yes. Several of our partnerships began as a change of provider, and our transition plan was written for that situation. See changing on-site care providers.

• What happens to the current provider's caregivers?

  Where another provider is leaving, we offer positions to its caregivers so residents keep the people they know.

• How do residents and families find out?

  From you first, on your letterhead. We draft the letter and the mailing for your approval, then spend two or three full days in the building meeting one-on-one with each resident and family who wants care.

• What do you do in the first month?

  A member of our corporate team is in your building every day for the first week, then five days a week through the third. At day 30 we survey every resident and family we serve and review the results with you.

Size and location

• How large does a community need to be?

  We want to hear from communities of every size. Our on-site model works in independent living communities of 50 apartments and up, and we size the team to the building and to the number of residents who want help. A 20-minute conversation and a look at your census is usually enough for both of us to see how it would work.

• Where do you work?

  Across mid and southeast Michigan, from Lansing to Flint to the Ohio line: Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, Livingston, Washtenaw, Genesee, Ingham, Eaton, Clinton, Jackson, Monroe, Lenawee, St. Clair and Lapeer counties. See where we work.

• Do you work with multi-site operators?

  Yes. We work with single buildings and with multi-site operators. Tell us which communities you have in mind and we will come to your office. See for owners and operators.

Veterans

• What is your veteran care model?

  It is a way of caring for veterans and surviving spouses in independent living that we have not seen anywhere else. We ask every resident about service, we help families find support that service may have earned, and care is delivered by the team already in your building. The details are best shared in person. See veteran care.

Getting in touch

• Who will we talk to first?

  Our owner, Chris Warburton. Call (248) 528-2600 or email info@balancedhomecare.com and we will call you within one business day.