Companion Care for Seniors in Gatlinburg, TN

About 246 residents of Gatlinburg aged 65 or older live alone, 29% of older residents in households (23% in Sevier County). They are the people companion care is usually for: mostly independent, but on their own for long stretches of the day.

5.3% of Gatlinburg households have no vehicle (4.1% in Sevier County). A companion who drives can turn a week at home into appointments, shopping and visits.

Of the 838 Gatlinburg residents aged 65 or older, 115 are 85 or older (14%). Before the first visit with someone in that oldest group, ask the family about hearing, eyesight, walking and any memory changes, so the visit is planned around them.

483 Gatlinburg households headed by someone 65 or older own their home and 63 rent. A companion visiting a house may also help with mail, light chores and keeping an eye on things; in an apartment building, ask whether visitors sign in.

About 81 older Gatlinburg residents (9.7%) live below the poverty line (11% in Sevier County). For them, Medicaid home and community-based services or the local Area Agency on Aging may cover some companion or homemaker hours, depending on the state program; private pay is not the only route.

About 23% of Gatlinburg residents aged 5 and over speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish (671), other Indo-European languages (91), Chinese (41). If the person you care for is more at ease in one of these languages, say so in your posting; many caregivers list the languages they speak.

At the Tennessee median aide wage of $15.45 an hour, 20 hours of help a week comes to about $1,339 a month in wages, which is 29% of the $4,540 monthly median income of Gatlinburg households headed by someone 65 or older. Private rates are agreed directly with the caregiver, so yours may be higher or lower. Tennessee has no state minimum wage law, so the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour applies to employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (U.S. Department of Labor).

Hiring directly, you agree the rate with the caregiver and usually become the household employer (U.S. Department of Labor rules). Some families qualify for programs that pay for care at home; see TennCare CHOICES: how to get paid to care for a family member in Tennessee.