When two people share a home and need help at different times of day, the sizing job is not a headcount. It is a timeline check. Draw both timelines on one sheet, mark where they overlap, and only then decide what kind of visit each block needs.
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.
Draw one row for each person
Use a single sheet with three rows: the first person, the second person, and the household. Across the top, mark the morning, the midday, the afternoon, and the evening. In each person's row, shade the windows when that person needs someone in the house, using only the times the family has actually observed. Do not guess at the whole day.
In the household row, mark the times a family member is already present, is at work, or is out of the house. The empty cells in the household row are the times an agency visit would have to fill.
Find the overlaps and the splits
Where both person rows are shaded at the same time, ask whether one aide can cover both people in one visit. That works only when the tasks are close together in the house and one aide can move between the rooms without leaving either person waiting.
Where the shaded windows are far apart, a single long visit will leave the house empty in the middle. Ask the agency whether it can book two arrivals with a clear start and end for each, and whether the same aide can return.
Where one person needs help that runs past the evening, mark it separately. That need is a different planning question, and it should not be squeezed into a daytime visit to make the sheet look full.
Test the sheet with the agency
Give the agency the sheet and ask four things. Can one aide start one person's visit before the other person's visit ends? Can the agency name the aide who will cover each window? What happens when the usual aide is out during an overlap? Who writes the handoff note between the two clients?
Initial the sheet, write the day it was made on the copy in the file with the paperwork, and keep a second copy at the house where the aide will see it. A grid that stays in one person's phone does not help the next aide who arrives.