Questions families and referrers ask
Care
What’s the difference between a home health aide and a private-duty nurse?
A certified home health aide helps with daily life: bathing, dressing, meals, the bathroom, getting around safely. A nurse handles clinical care, such as managing medications, wound care, and monitoring after a hospital stay. Both work from a care plan written by one of our registered nurses, and plenty of families use both.
How often does a nurse check on the aide?
Every two weeks. A nurse visits, checks on the person receiving care and on the aide, and updates the care plan if something has changed. Our physician Medical Director reviews the plans.
How do you screen your aides?
Every aide is a Certified Home Health Aide, certified by the New Jersey Board of Nursing, and CPR trained. Before an aide works with a Nexstep client, we run a criminal background check, check their driving record, and call their references. Nexstep is also insured and bonded.
Does Nexstep replace my primary care doctor?
No. Our in-home medical visits work alongside your primary care doctor and specialists, and we keep them updated so everyone works from the same plan.
Is it better to stay home or move to assisted living?
It depends on what your family wants most and what the person receiving care needs day to day. If you’re deciding between the two, our assessment lays out a plan built around your family’s goals, including what it would take to stay home safely, so you can compare the options side by side.
Can we reach a doctor after hours?
Yes. Patients can reach a physician at any hour by calling the office, and you’ll be connected. For an emergency, call 911.
How quickly can care start?
When the need is urgent, such as a hospital discharge this week, we can place an aide on short notice for short-term help while the longer-term plan comes together.
Cost and insurance
Will Medicare pay for a home health aide?
Usually not on its own. Medicare’s home health benefit covers part-time or intermittent skilled care, like nursing or therapy, for people who are homebound, and it covers aide visits only while that skilled care is also happening. It doesn’t pay for 24-hour care at home, or for personal care such as bathing and dressing when that’s the only care someone needs. Most families who need daily help pay privately or use long-term care insurance.
Do you take Medicare or health insurance?
Nexstep is private pay. One exception worth asking about: Chronic Care Management, a monthly service for people with two or more chronic conditions, may be covered by traditional Medicare.
How does long-term care insurance work with Nexstep?
Most long-term care policies have a waiting period before benefits start, and ask for regular proof that care is still needed. We file the claim and handle those recertifications, so the policy keeps paying without you chasing forms.
What does care cost?
It depends on the hours and the level of care. After the assessment you’ll get a written care plan and our recommendations before anything starts.
What’s the shortest shift you offer?
Four hours. We also offer live-in care.
About Nexstep
What areas do you serve?
Northern New Jersey. If you’re not sure your town is covered, call and ask.
Why does licensing and accreditation matter?
New Jersey requires any company that places home health aides to register with the Division of Consumer Affairs as a Health Care Service Firm, and to be accredited by a state-approved body. Nexstep’s registration number is HP0390200, and we’re accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), which reviews us against standards for skilled nursing and home health aide care.
The aides themselves must be certified by the New Jersey Board of Nursing, which requires training, a competency exam and a criminal background check. You can look up any aide’s certification in the Board’s online directory. If you hire an aide privately, you’d be checking these things yourself.
I’m a discharge planner or care manager. How do I refer?
Call (551) 444-6300 with the basics of the case and we’ll tell you whether we can staff it. One call covers nursing, aides and physician oversight, and our care works alongside the patient’s insurance-covered benefits, such as Medicare home health or hospice.
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