When taking care of bathing, dressing, and daily activities becomes a worry at home in Des Moines, your loved one deserves trusted support. Preferred Care at Home of Des Moines, Ankeny, and Urbandale provides personal in-home care for elderly people who want to stay in control in their own homes. Our experienced and trained caregivers, including CNA/HHA professionals, build consistent routines around your family’s needs.
Preferred Care at Home of Des Moines, Ankeny, and Urbandale is locally owned and operated by Joseph Peterson, bringing more than 40 years of national brand experience to Polk County and 15 surrounding communities. Every caregiver passes the proprietary 7-Step Screening Process before entering a client’s home. Call (515) 444-5520.
Our company’s mission is helping seniors age in place with compassionate care and dignity. Preferred Care at Home matches caregivers by personality rather than availability, giving families peace of mind and reducing care disruptions. Families access real-time schedules, caregiver notes, and invoicing through the Transparency Room. Explore our personal care services on our national resource page.
Bathing and grooming assistance supports elderly people in Des Moines managing reduced mobility or conditions like diabetes that make independent bathing unsafe. We tailor each care plan to your loved one’s comfort level and personal hygiene routine, from gentle verbal prompts through full assistance with hair care, shaving, and oral hygiene.
For older adults in Des Moines managing arthritis, balance challenges, or post-surgery limitations, dressing assistance preserves dignity and independence each day. Care covers selecting appropriate clothing, managing buttons and fasteners, and supporting safe transitions between nightwear and daytime clothing.
Transfers between bed, chair, and bathroom are the highest-risk moments for Des Moines seniors managing balance loss or weakness. Mobility support from Preferred Care at Home reduces that risk through trained, consistent support at every movement, with every plan tailored to your loved one’s specific physical situation.
Toileting and incontinence care is among the most personal forms of daily living assistance, and dignity matters most here for elderly people in Des Moines. Our caregivers approach this support with patience and full respect for privacy, assisting with transfers, incontinence products, and skin hygiene.
Seniors in Des Moines managing diabetes or chronic conditions with strict timing needs cannot afford missed reminders at home. This is a non-medical reminder service only and does not include administering or handling medications. Caregivers note compliance patterns for family review through the Transparency Room.
Personal hygiene assistance supports older adults in Des Moines who struggle with cleanliness and grooming due to disabilities, advancing age, or recovery from surgery. Caregivers assist with hand washing, nail care, skin care, oral hygiene, and other daily tasks, with consistent caregiver assignment designed to build comfort and self-respect.
Step 01
Call (515) 444-5520 or submit an inquiry online. Our team responds promptly to understand your loved one’s current situation.
Step 02
We schedule a personalized consultation to review daily routines, personal care needs, health history, and preferences before building any plan.
Step 03
A customized care plan is developed covering which personal care services are needed, at what frequency, and at what level of caregiver involvement.
Step 04
We select a caregiver based on personality compatibility and relevant experience, not just availability, to support consistency and build real comfort over time.
Step 05
Care typically begins within days of first contact. Your family receives Transparency Room access and can coordinate via Zoom or FaceTime regardless of where you live.
South Florida’s climate and South Broward’s multilingual community create real, specific challenges for families managing personal care at home.
Challenge
What It Looks Like
How We Help
Falls and mobility decline
What It Looks Like
CDC data shows 1 in 4 older adults fall each year. Transfers between bed, chair, and bathroom are the highest-risk moments for Des Moines seniors managing mobility loss.
How We Help
We assign trained caregivers to mobility assistance, bathing routines, and toileting care at every visit. Our fall prevention resource provides additional guidance.
Challenge
Family caregiver strain
What It Looks Like
Per the AARP 2025 Iowa Caregiving Report, 55% of Iowa family caregivers assist with bathing, dressing, and feeding. When family caregivers handle these tasks daily, burnout arrives quickly.
How We Help
We provide consistent personal care that relieves families of the most demanding ADL tasks, keeping everyone informed through the Transparency Room.
Challenge
Provider market density
What It Looks Like
Between 25 and 49 home care agency options exist in Des Moines. Many use identical language about dignity without explaining how they screen or match caregivers.
How We Help
Our 7-Step Screening Process and personality-based matching are concrete differentiators. The Transparency Room creates ongoing family visibility that sets us apart.
Challenge
Medicare coverage confusion
What It Looks Like
Many families assume Medicare covers bathing and dressing assistance after a hospital stay, but Medicare does not cover custodial personal care when that is the only care needed.
How We Help
We walk families through payment options during the free consultation, including Iowa HCBS Medicaid waiver programs and VA benefits.
Challenge
Cost escalation from delay
What It Looks Like
Genworth 2024 data shows nursing home care in Des Moines averages $8,669 per month. Delaying personal care at home often means reaching that decision under crisis conditions.
How We Help
We offer scheduling from 1 hour per day, so personal care can begin at a manageable scale and expand with your loved one’s needs.
Preferred Care at Home has continued this tradition by only referring the most reliable, compassionate, experienced and affordable caregivers to client’s homes or care facilities.
Yes. Preferred Care at Home of Des Moines, Ankeny, and Urbandale provides personal in-home care throughout the greater Des Moines metro and Polk County.
Preferred Care at Home is dedicated to serving Des Moines and 15 surrounding communities, supporting elderly people, families managing disabilities, and those needing reliable senior care at home. Our local office covers daily activities from bathing to personal hygiene. Call (515) 444-5520 or contact us online to confirm availability.
Preferred Care at Home provides bathing and grooming assistance, dressing assistance, mobility support, toileting care, medication reminders, and personal hygiene assistance in Des Moines.
Services offered include the full range of assistance with activities of daily living. We also provide companion care for companionship and emotional support, and dementia and Alzheimer’s care for clients managing memory decline. Contact our local Des Moines office to discuss what fits your family.
Preferred Care at Home begins with a personalized consultation, builds a customized care plan, matches a caregiver by personality, and typically starts care within days.
A coordinator schedules a consultation to understand your loved one’s needs and daily routines. A customized care plan covers which services are needed and how often. Once care begins, your family receives Transparency Room access for real-time schedules and updates.
Personal in-home care includes assistance with bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, mobility, medication reminders, and personal hygiene for seniors at home.
Care is built around daily activities that have become difficult or unsafe to perform independently. Preferred Care at Home also connects families to Smooth-Transition Care for clients returning home from Iowa Methodist, MercyOne, or UnityPoint.
Personal care covers non-medical daily living assistance, while home health care services involve skilled services ordered by a physician under a medical treatment plan.
Personal care means experienced caregivers assist with bathing, dressing, grooming, and mobility. Home health care services involve home health aides and nurses performing medically ordered procedures under a physician’s treatment plan. Medicare covers those services when ordered by a physician, but does not cover custodial personal care when that is the only need.
Personal in-home care in Des Moines averages around $6,006 per month based on 2024 Genworth Cost of Care data, though actual costs depend on hours and care frequency.
Many families start with a few hours per week covering bathing, housekeeping support, and meal preparation, enjoying the convenience of quality home care services without a full-time commitment. Payment options include private pay, Iowa HCBS Medicaid waiver programs, VA Aid and Attendance benefits, the VA Guide Program, VA Community Care, and long-term care insurance. Visit our paying for home care resource or call (515) 444-5520.
Watch for signs that bathing, dressing, or hygiene have become irregular, unsafe, or a source of family conflict.
When a parent skips showers, struggles with bathroom safety, or resists help with grooming, occasional check-ins are no longer enough. The in-home care quiz gives hope and clarity before you call.
Home care is usually the better fit when your loved one wants to remain at home and can stay safe with task-specific support for bathing, dressing, and daily activities.
In Des Moines, assisted living runs approximately $6,500 per month, only modestly above home care. The real difference is environment. Home care lets your loved one stay in their own house without the worry of leaving familiar surroundings, with support scaled to what they need.
Medicare does not cover personal care or custodial care such as bathing, dressing, and toileting when that is the only care needed.
Medicare covers home health care only when services including nursing or physical therapy are ordered by a physician under an active treatment plan. Assistance with activities of daily living falls outside Medicare coverage in Iowa. Preferred Care at Home helps families navigate payment options during a free consultation.
Yes. Qualified veterans and surviving spouses in Des Moines can use VA Aid and Attendance benefits to help offset the cost of personal care assistance at home.
Polk County has 21,413 veterans per U.S. Census data. The VA Aid and Attendance pension add-on supports veterans who need help with bathing, dressing, and feeding. VA Community Care and the VA Guide Program offer additional support for qualifying veterans. Visit our Aid and Attendance resource for next steps.
