Before you commit to an agency, check whether the public files place it in the county and city where care will happen. This guide shows how to make that match, and what a match does and does not prove. It does not name or recommend any provider.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Start from the file
The desk's federal in-home care registrations by county and federal in-home care registrations by city are sorted by place, so the first step is to find the agency's listing under the place you live. If you are looking at Medicare-certified home health, use the separate certified home health coverage by county page instead. The two are different categories. Missouri treats home health and non-medical home care as two categories, as explained in home health and home care in Missouri are two different categories, so check which one you are actually shopping for before you compare anything.
Match the address, not the county name
Write your full street address, then compare the county and city the listing shows against your address. A neighboring county, a suburb with a different city name, or a rural road can look close on a map and still sit outside the place the listing shows. If the match is not clean, do not assume. Ask the agency in writing whether it serves that exact address, and how far its workers travel to reach it.
What a match does not prove
Desk judgment: a county match is a starting point, not an assurance. It does not tell you whether a worker will be available at your hours, whether the agency sends workers to your street on weekends and nights, or whether its staff live nearby. Those are questions for the agency, and the answers belong on paper before you sign.
Questions to put in writing
Which cities in the county do your workers reach regularly? What is your rule for an address outside your usual area? If the county on my listing differs from my address, how do you confirm service in writing? Who on your staff confirms that answer, and does it appear in the agreement?
For the lookup steps themselves, read how to check a provider yourself, in five lookups, and use the home health versus non-medical home care guide on which record to check to confirm you are reading the right file.