Respite Care for Family Caregivers in Allentown and Wilkes-Barre, PA
Under Pennsylvania law, respite care is not a different service. The state defines it as “personal care and assistance with instrumental activities of daily living provided on a short term basis because of the absence or need for relief for those persons normally providing the services” (28 Pa. Code § 611.5). In plain terms, the respite care Allentown and Wilkes-Barre families ask Home Care Concepts for is the same caregiver and the same tasks, scheduled so the daughter, husband or sister who does it every day can stop for an afternoon, a weekend or a week.
What a respite visit covers
The caregiver picks up where you leave off, at the same two levels the agency provides every day: personal care for the body and companion care for the house and the company.
| While you are away | What the caregiver does |
|---|---|
| The morning routine | Shower or bed bath, dressing, grooming, breakfast, medication reminder |
| The day | Meals, light housekeeping, laundry, errands, a walk, conversation, supervision for safety |
| Appointments | Escort to the doctor, the pharmacy, church or the hairdresser |
| The evening | Dinner, medication reminder, help to the toilet, nightclothes, a safe path to bed |
| Overnight or several days | Round-the-clock coverage in shifts or with a live-in caregiver; see 24-hour home care in Allentown |
| Dementia | The same tasks, with the training in difficult behaviors Pennsylvania requires of every direct care worker |
The personal care part must be done by a caregiver with the state’s additional training and yearly competency review; the household and companionship part is covered by the base training every direct care worker has.
Who respite care is for
The person “normally providing the services,” in the words of the regulation. The National Institute on Aging lists “caring for a loved one who is unwell” among the circumstances that put someone at risk of social isolation, next to living alone and lack of social support (NIA). The family caregiver runs the same risk as the parent she cares for. Respite is how she keeps her job, her own medical appointments, her marriage and her sleep.
The usual reasons families call: a week of vacation, a surgery of the caregiver’s own, a work trip, a wedding out of state, or one afternoon a week that belongs to her. Our guide on how to plan respite care for family caregivers covers how to prepare the house, the routine and the parent for the first visit.
Respite care Allentown families schedule: three patterns
Three patterns cover most families:
- Regular hours. A fixed block each week, for example Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, so the caregiver has time that is hers and the parent gets used to the same face. This is the pattern most likely to prevent burnout, because it is planned rather than rescued.
- A block of days. A weekend or a week, with morning and evening visits, or 24-hour coverage when the person cannot be alone.
- Urgent. The caregiver falls ill or is called away. How fast it can start depends on staffing that week; more notice means more choice of caregiver.
Before services begin, a licensed agency must give you in writing the services, the caregiver’s identity, the hours and the fees (28 Pa. Code § 611.57). Once you request a caregiver, Home Care Concepts contacts you within 24 hours; non-emergency calls are monitored 24/7 and answered within two hours.
How respite care is paid
| Payer | Respite care |
|---|---|
| Pennsylvania Caregiver Support Program | Reimburses a qualified primary caregiver up to $600 a month for out-of-pocket services, and up to $5,000 lifetime for home modifications (PA Department of Aging). Apply through the county Area Agency on Aging; see Lehigh County Area Agency on Aging. |
| Medicaid Community HealthChoices (CHC) | Respite is on the CHC long-term services and supports list (PDF). See how CHC works, including paying a family member. |
| VA Home Respite Care | Pays for a person to come to the veteran’s home while the family caregiver takes a break; all enrolled veterans are eligible if they meet the clinical criteria, and a copay may apply (VA, updated September 3, 2026). |
| Long-term care insurance | The NAIC shopper’s guide lists respite care among the services a policy may cover (NAIC, PDF); check the policy. |
| Private pay | By the hour; Pennsylvania median $34 an hour in 2025 (CareScout, PDF). See nine ways to lower the cost. |
Home Care Concepts works with Medicaid Waiver and the VA as payer sources and accepts private pay.
Request respite care in Allentown or Wilkes-Barre. Tell us the dates, the hours and what your parent needs help with, and we will contact you within 24 hours. Or call (484) 894-7888.
The same hourly rate as the care it replaces. Pennsylvania's 2025 median for non-medical home care through a provider was $34 an hour, so a four-hour afternoon runs about $136 and a weekly afternoon about $590 a month. The Caregiver Support Program can reimburse up to $600 a month of that for a qualified family caregiver.
Yes, for people enrolled in Community HealthChoices: respite is one of the long-term services and supports in the CHC benefits package, and the service coordinator approves the hours. For people not on Medicaid, the Caregiver Support Program through the county Area Agency on Aging and the VA's Home Respite Care are the other public options.
Yes. Respite is defined by why it happens, not how long it lasts. A weekend or a week is covered with morning and evening visits when the person can be alone in between, or with 24-hour care in shifts or a live-in caregiver when she cannot. The tasks are the ones the family caregiver does every day.
As early as the date is known. Pennsylvania requires the agency to tell you in writing who the caregiver will be and what hours she will work before the first visit, and more notice means more choice of caregiver and a chance for your parent to meet her beforehand. Urgent requests are possible; their timing depends on staffing that week.
Contact
-
2895 Hamilton Blvd, Suite 106
Allentown, PA 18104 -
16 S River St
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701 - +1 (484) 894-7888
- info@hcareconcepts.com