An image of a caregiver helping an elder with daily tasks in a Senior Home Care facility in La Mesa, California. An image of a caregiver helping an elder with daily tasks in a Senior Home Care facility in La Mesa, California.

La Mesa Senior Home Care

When given the choice, I Prefer Home.®

Stay in the home you love with the help of Preferred Care at Home.

How can we help you?

I need care for myself or a loved one

Get Care Now

I'm looking for a rewarding career

Apply Online

Logo for Preferred Care at Home, a leading provider of senior care in San Diego.

Our services improve quality of life.

Central Coastal San Diego

Learn about Central Coastal San Diego

An image of a caregiver helping an elder with daily tasks in a Senior Home Care facility in La Mesa, California.

Companion Care

Too often, with age comes loneliness. The feeling that no one cares creeps in. Aging has a way of reminding you of family members and friends who have passed on. You can feel like you’re alone.

It’s our mission at Preferred Care at Home to alleviate that loneliness and bring joy and companionship. Our caregivers also travel with clients, providing transportation to the theater, doctor, church or coffee shop.

Learn about Companion Care

Companion Care

Helping you enjoy life to the fullest

Too often, with age comes loneliness. The feeling that no one cares creeps in. Aging has a way of reminding you of family members and friends who have passed on. You can feel like you’re alone.

Senior women having coffee break

It’s our mission at Preferred Care at Home to alleviate that loneliness and bring joy and companionship. Our caregivers also travel with clients, providing transportation to the theater, doctor, church or coffee shop.

Companion care is an excellent choice for seniors who live alone or don’t have a lot of family and friends nearby. It also works well for short-term respite care. The primary caregiver gets a much-needed break, and the senior loved one has fun interacting with another caring person.

Preferred Care at Home’s extensive senior companion care services include meal monitoring, transportation planning visits and trips, help with minor tasks, and of course, companionship. Here is the full list of services included:

Personal Interaction:

  • Engaging in companionship and conversation
  • Reminiscing about the past
  • Discussing current and historical events
  • Playing games and cards
  • Renting and playing movies
  • Maintaining a family scrapbook
  • Encouraging participation with crafts
  • Helping read
  • Directing morning wake-up and evening tuck-in
  • Helping select clothes
  • Mailing letters and bills
  • Monitoring eating patterns and diet
  • Inspecting food expiration dates
  • Maintaining a calendar
  • Arranging appointments and providing reminders

Social Interaction:

  • Planning visits, outings and trips
  • Visiting neighbors and friends
  • Encouraging interaction with loved ones
  • Encouraging participation in and assisting with community activities
  • Monitoring visitors
  • Providing incidental transportation with caregiver to:
      – Doctor appointments
      – The pharmacy
      – Social outings
      – Lunch or dinner
      – Plays and concerts
      – Movies
      – Religious services
      – Sporting events
      – Club meetings

Central Coastal San Diego

Learn about Central Coastal San Diego

An image of a caregiver helping an elder with daily tasks in a Senior Home Care facility in La Mesa, California.

Central Coastal San Diego

Learn about Central Coastal San Diego

An image of a caregiver helping an elder with daily tasks in a Senior Home Care facility in La Mesa, California.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s Care

If you or your parent has Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia, you’re not alone. After all, on average, every four seconds someone is diagnosed with dementia, according to the World Health Organization. Yet facing the disease can feel so isolating, so overwhelming. Our in-home Dementia and Alzheimer’s care can help.

As advocates for quality dementia care, Preferred Care at Home has cared for hundreds of clients with dementia across the nation. Our specially trained, compassionate caregivers allow our clients to safely remain home, or in the home of a family member.

Learn about Dementia and Alzheimer’s Care

Dementia and Alzheimer’s Care

Helping you stay safe and respected at home

Elderly woman sitting isolated on a bench

If you or your parent has Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia, you’re not alone. After all, on average, every four seconds someone is diagnosed with dementia, according to the World Health Organization. Yet facing the disease can feel so isolating, so overwhelming. Our in-home Dementia and Alzheimer’s care can help.

As advocates for quality dementia care, Preferred Care at Home has cared for hundreds of clients with dementia across the nation. Our specially trained, compassionate caregivers allow our clients to safely remain home, or in the home of a family member.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s home care services our experienced caregivers provide include:

  • Stimulating mental awareness
  • Playing memory-enhancement games
  • Helping with crafts and reading
  • Encouraging social interaction with family and friends
  • Stimulating healthy conversation

Our caregivers keep a keen eye on safety and health issues by helping with the following:

  • Nutritious-meal preparation
  • Medication reminders
  • Hygiene reminders
  • Clothes selection
  • Maintaining a safe home environment

Live-in Care

Peace of mind. It’s so often an elusive dream for people with elderly parents—and for elderly people themselves. That’s why Preferred Care at Home has always been known best for our 24 hour home care, also known as live-in care.

Our 24 hour home care services provide around-the-clock supervision and companionship in the security and privacy of your own home. Your caregivers, matched to you by personality along with life and work experience, are present day and night to provide professional, reliable and compassionate care.

Learn about Live-in Care

Live-in Care

Affordable, 24 hour peace of mind

Peace of mind. It’s so often an elusive dream for people with elderly parents—and for elderly people themselves. That’s why Preferred Care at Home has always been known best for our 24 hour home care, also known as live-in care.

White chair on veranda

Our 24 hour home care services provide around-the-clock supervision and companionship in the security and privacy of your own home. Your caregivers, matched to you by personality along with life and work experience, are present day and night to provide professional, reliable and compassionate care.

In addition to quality care, we also guarantee continuity. You don’t have to worry about frequent changes in caregivers—having to get acquainted time and again. Central to our live-in care option is this commitment to consistency. And at Preferred Care at Home, where we strive to make our services accessible to everyone, live-in care is more affordable than you probably imagine.

Who Is Live-in Care Best For?

You may think of live-in care as being primarily for people who are bedridden. While it is an excellent solution for them, it’s also helpful for other people who want consistent aid. For example, our 24 hour home care is great for seniors who have:

  • Unsteadiness or a fear of falling.

    Worrying about falling can lead to inactivity, which makes your muscles atrophy, which increases your risk for a fall! With live-in care, you always have someone there just in case, so you can feel confident to be as active as you can.

  • Loneliness or a fear of being alone.

    No one should experience that empty feeling of loneliness. The compassionate heart of a Preferred Care at Home caregiver is an ever-present comfort.

  • Trouble remembering medication.

    “Did you take your medicine today?” If that question’s been asked too many times, you should know that live-in care can eliminate that anxiety. Our quality caregivers will remind you when to take your medicine so dosages aren’t forgotten or repeated.

  • Memory loss, or signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

    Memory deficiencies may creep in as we age. People with Alzheimer’s do best in a familiar environment. Most need extended hours of care in order to remain healthy and safe at home.

Live-in care services are also good for seniors who:

Want to avoid a revolving door of caregivers. Change can be stressful. Continuity is at the heart of our live-in care. As long as you’re happy and well taken care of, you’ll have the same caregiver by your side every step of the way.

Want to remain independent and in control of their care.With Preferred Care at Home’s live-in care, you’re the boss. You decide when and how you want things done.

Is Live-in Care Really Right for Me?

Still wondering whether live-in care is the choice for you? Here are answers to some common questions.

1. Can I afford 24 hour home care? Long-term care can certainly be costly. However, since 1984 the founders of Preferred Care at Home have built a reputation for offering quality services at affordable prices. Contact us to see which package works best for you.

2. What if I move or I already live in an assisted living community? If home is where you want to live, we can make that a reality. If you prefer to move into a facility, we can also provide any extra assistance you need. In essence, we come alongside you so home, or wherever you call home, is that safe place.

3. Will I like my caregivers? We match each caregiver to fit with your personality. We even look into life and work experience to make sure you two will get along swimmingly. A key aspect of our live-in care is quality interaction. After all, you have much to share with others. But of course, if you’re ever unhappy, we will promptly find a new person who fits your needs better.

If live-in care sounds like a good fit for you, contact us, and we’ll personally review all the details about how it works. We’ll even conduct a complimentary, no-obligation home assessment.

Meet the team
Toni Petruzzo is the proud owner of Preferred Care at Home of Central Coastal San Diego. She serves her community by offering exceptional in-home senior care in San Diego and surrounding communities.

"You don’t have to be alone. Preferred Care at Home will help you become the son, daughter, or spouse again instead of being an overwhelmed caregiver. We are here to care for those you care about"

Toni Petruzzo

Owner, PCAH of Central Coastal San Diego

Meet the Team

Toni Petruzzo is the proud owner of Preferred Care at Home of Central Coastal San Diego. She serves her community by offering exceptional in-home senior care in San Diego and surrounding communities.

Toni Petruzzo

Toni Petruzzo is the proud owner of Preferred Care at Home of Central Coastal San Diego. She serves her community by offering exceptional in-home senior care in San Diego and surrounding communities.

Toni Yuskis Petruzzo, owner and administrator of Preferred Care at Home, comes from a family of health care providers and is a native San Diegan.  Her father was a cardiologist in San Diego and one of the founders of the San Diego Heart Association. Her mother was a registered nurse, and her husband is a physician.

Toni remembers going on rounds with her Dad to the hospital and to facilities, which at that time were called rest homes. Most of his patients were seniors and they always wanted to know when they could go back home.

Being an only child, Toni knows too well what it was like to be the only family member responsible for a loved one.  Her very first experience with this was when she was appointed by the court to be a conservator for an aunt who suffered from Parkinsonism, Schizophrenia and Dementia.   Her aunt was a hoarder, and Toni remembers cleaning out her aunt’s house so that she could live there comfortably.  Later, Toni became a caregiver to her mother when she was diagnosed with dementia and beginning stages of Alzheimer’s disease.  Her mother lived with Toni and her family for many years.  Through the experience of caring for her aunt and mother, Toni knows first hand how difficult everyday caregiving tasks become while trying to balance responsibilities as a wife and a mother of two small children.

It is because of her experience as a family caregiver that Toni wants to come along side the families in her community. She has personally experienced the frustration, sadness, anger and guilt that often burden a family caregiver. Toni wants to make a difference in the lives of seniors and their families and she has a message for you, “You don’t have to be alone.”  Preferred Care at Home will help you become the son, daughter, or spouse again instead of being an overwhelmed caregiver.  Toni and her compassionate caregivers are here to care for those you care about.

Toni graduated from the University of California at Irvine, Cum Laude.  She has a California Real Estate Broker’s license, is a Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES), a Certified Home Care Manager and a Certified Senior Advisor, which is a distinguished professional who has knowledge about aging and the important health, social, and financial issues that affect the majority of seniors. Toni is also a member of CAHSAH, California Association for Health Services at Home.

Toni is very passionate about providing the best caregivers.  The best compliment you can give her is one that a client’s daughter wrote to her, “The peace of mind you have given us is priceless!”

Email Me

About Preferred Care at Home of Central Coastal San Diego, CA

Personal Approach to Senior Home Care

Preferred Care at Home Central Coastal San Diego offers a variety of senior care services to the senior population and their loved ones in San Diego.  Toni Yuskis Petruzzo, the owner and administrator, has an intimate history with home care, as she was a family caregiver for her mother who had Alzheimer’s.  She was also a caregiver and conservator to her aunt who suffered from Parkinsonism, dementia and schizophrenia.

It is because of this history that she understands how difficult it is at times to stop the stress, frustration, anger, guilt, and fatigue from bleeding into the other important roles and personal relationships like wife and mother. She also understands that shouldering all the senior care responsibilities without any help may not be feasible or healthy in the long run.

Moreover, she knows what skills and training her caregivers should have in order to provide the most compassionate and competent senior home care. Every one of the caregivers is properly qualified and experienced, be they CNA’s, HHA’s, or LVN’s, many being student nurses from the local colleges in San Diego.  Every caregiver that is placed in a senior’s home is certified in CPR and First Aid. They have undergone a medical exam and completed a TB test. In addition, caregivers must complete an extensive 7-step screening process and background check before they become a part of the Preferred Care at Home family of senior care providers in San Diego.

Toni personally keeps in contact with the family members on bi-weekly visits to the individuals receiving senior home care services.  She personally keeps the family members informed on everything from weight change and dietary suggestions to personality changes and care plan updates. This service is especially impactful to family members who live out of the area.

Preferred Care at Home of Central Coastal San Diego provides a wide range of senior home care services such as companion care, personal care, meal preparation, dressing and hygiene assistance, medication reminders, light housekeeping, laundry, Alzheimer care, post surgical care, continence care, transition from hospital to home care, respite care and more.

Service Areas

Call us if you live in Encinitas, Coronado, San Diego, Del Cerro, Mission Bay, La Jolla, Point Loma, Bay Park, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Midway, Mission Bay, Pacific Beach, Old Town, Moreno, Loma Portal, University City, and Sorrento Valley. (619) 212-7950

Certifications & Awards

Read our Reviews

Icon representing in-home care services from Preferred Care at Home of Central Coastal San Diego.

Communities We Serve

Proudly serving the following areas: Encinitas, Coronado, San Diego, Del Cerro, Mission Bay, La Jolla, Point Loma, Bay Park, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Midway, Mission Bay, Pacific Beach, Old Town, Moreno, Loma Portal, University City, and Sorrento Valley. and others — contact us to learn more.

Start Care Now

Don't just take our word for it.
See what our patients have to say.

Latest from our Senior Home Care Blog