SOUTHFIELD — MichiganHomeCareGuide.com, a website created and managed by the Area Agency on Aging 1-B, a local non-profit serving seniors and adults with disabilities, has launched, and is designed to help seniors and family caregivers in Southeast Michigan find quality in-home care.
Area Agency developed the website as a free, unbiased community resource designed to guide seniors and families who are looking for home care.
Seniors and family caregivers can search the site’s online listings of area home care providers to find a company that is right for them. Users can narrow listings based on their specific needs and also get firsthand insight into a company’s performance by reading reviews entered by other people who have used their services. In addition to company listings, the site offers an extensive library of informative articles on aging and caregiving.
The website was inspired by a family caregiver whose mother suffered from dementia. While caring for his mother, he struggled to find quality home care and the resources and information he needed. He was discouraged by the fact that he could go online and find reviews about restaurants, hotels or appliances but could not find anything similar to guide him when searching for a quality home care agency for his vulnerable mother.
The site was developed with the input and assistance of a group of 12 seniors and disabled adults who themselves receive in-home care. They wanted to share their experiences and insights, and create a site that would work for people like them. They met one to two times a month for over a year and helped develop the rating and review criteria, the look and feel of the site and the content. They also spent many hours making sure that the site would be easy to use and intuitive for older adults and people with disabilities.
