Our Services

Personal Care Assistance in St. Louis


Our Mission

Our services

Gentle Hands Home Care, LLC, works with Federal, State, and local agencies and programs to provide St. Louis, MO, residents with affordable home health care and personal care assistance. We offer Consumer Directed Services, In-Home Services, Healthy Children and Youth (HCY), Medically Fragile Adult Waiver (MFAW), Structured Family Waiver (SFW)***, vet assist, private pay, long term, insurances, most insurances and case management. Please take a few moments to learn more about them and call our office for a free in-home assessment to determine whether your family qualifies for one. 

Consumer Directed Services (CDS)

The Consumer Directed Services Program (CDS) is available for Missouri Medicaid and private pay eligible persons with physical disabilities. This program is no cost to the consumer.* This program is designed for the consumer to hire their own personal care attendant and manage in assisting them with activities of daily living (ADL). The attendant can be related to the consumer.**
Consumer Directed Services (CDS) include State Plan Personal Care, which includes but is not limited to:   
  • Personal Care – bathing, grooming, dressing, personal hygiene  
  • Toileting – ostomy or catheter hygiene; bowel and/or bladder routine; general toileting activities  
  • Health – use of transfer devices/mobility issues/prostheses, passive range of motion, manual assistance with medications, treatments, cleaning and maintenance of equipment
  • Housekeeping – cleaning, dusting, bed linens, laundry, trash
  • Meals – meal preparation and/or assistance with eating, washing dishes
  • Transportation – essential shopping/errands, school or employment
  • Independent Living Waiver (ILW) – this program offers additional services beyond the limitations of the Consumer Directed State Plan Personal Care program to a limited number of eligible consumers. ILW services include case management, personal care, environmental accessibility adaptations and specialized medical equipment and supplies​
  • Nurse Visit- medication setup
  • Case management 

Some consumers may have to pay a spend down*
Spouses may not provide care through the CDS program.** 
A spouse can work for their spouse if they have the SFW and certain restrictions apply. *** 

Home and Community Based Services Program (HCBS)

Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Program provides personal care assistance to seniors and adults with disabilities, which allows them to remain out of nursing facilities. In-Home, which is known as Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), is similar to the CDS program, but unlike the CDS program, you don’t have to be able to self-direct your own care. You also can have a family member working for you. *In-Home Services (IHS) is also no cost to you. If income is over the limit, ask us about the Miller Trust program.

In-Home Services (IHS) include:
  • Personal Care: assistance with activities of daily living
  • Homemaking: general assistance with housekeeping
  • Chores: short-term, intermittent tasks necessary to maintain a clean, sanitary, and safe home environment
  • Advanced Personal Care: services related to activities of daily living, specifically when such assistance requires the use of devices or procedures related to altered body functions
  • Authorized Nurse Visits: maintenance or preventative services provided by a registered nurse (RN) or licensed practical nurse (LPN) under supervision of RN (must be authorized in conjunction with another service)
  • Respite: provides temporary relief for the caregiver of a dependent adult
  • Basic: provided to participants with non-skilled needs
  • Advanced: provided to participants with special care needs requiring a high level of oversight
  • Nurse: provided to participants with skilled nursing needs​.
  • Case management 
In-home personal care workers cannot be a family member of the recipient for whom personal care is to be provided. A family member is defined as a parent; sibling; child by blood, adoption or marriage; spouse; grandparent or grandchild.
Consumer might have to pay a spend down fee*

Veteran Assist Care

The Veteran Assist (VA) "Ad & Attendance" benefits is for wartime Veterans, or their surviving spouse, who meet certain medical and financial requirements. In 1952, Congress passed Title 38 of the Veterans Affair (VA), and authorizing benefits for Veterans. One of these benefits is the Non-Service Connected Pension, with "Aid & Attendance Pension benefit. Even though the pension has been around for 60 years, very few people know about it or understand how it works. Gentle Hands Home Care, LLC has years of experience successfully helping Veteran families apply for and receive the pension. VAC is at no cost to you. Must have had honorable discharge.

Veterans Home Care can provide personal care assistance including:
  • Help with bathing
  • Help with dressing
  • Medication reminders
  • Transportation
  • Meal Preparation
  • Transferring to and from bed
  • Personal Care
  • Respite Care
  • Light Housekeeping
  • Laundry
  • Companionship
  • Additional services, including help to access other community resources to improve your quality of life.
The “3 M's” VA requirements:
  • Military Service: Minimum 90 days active duty with at least one day during war time and honorable discharge
  • Medical Needs: Non-service-connected disability which requires with activities of daily living
  • Money (Financial Limitations): Limited resources in relation to medical expenses
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Healthy Children and Youth Program

The Healthy Children and Youth Program (HCY) provides service coordination and authorization for medically necessary services for MO HealthNet recipients with special health care needs from birth to age 21. Service coordination includes assessment through home visits and links to services and resources that enable individuals to remain in their homes with their families. Authorized services may include in-home personal care, in-home nursing care and skilled-nursing visits.
Special Health Care Needs (SHCN) Public Health Nurse Service Coordinators monitor services through assessments, regular home visits, medical records and care plan review.

Service Coordination includes:
  • Evaluation and assessment of needs
  • Identifying and accessing service providers
  • Service plan development and implementation
  • Coordination of services through resource identification and referral
  • Family support
  • Assisting in establishing a medical home
  • Transition planning
  • Prior Authorization of medically necessary services, including:
    • Private duty nursing
    • Advanced personal care
    • Personal care aide
    • Skilled nursing visits
    • Authorized Registered Nurse visits
    • Administrative case management
A family member is not allowed to care for the participant.
Call our office in St. Louis, MO, to schedule an in-person assessment for your loved one.
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