Stroke Recovery Support at Home in Chattanooga Valley, GA

Hospitals with an emergency department near Chattanooga Valley: Parkridge Medical Center in Chattanooga (8.4 mi); Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga (8.8 mi); Commonspirit-Memorial Hospital-North Georgia in Ringgold (11 mi). With stroke signs, call 911 rather than driving.

58 Chattanooga Valley residents 65 or older have difficulty dressing or bathing (7.2%; 5.6% in Walker County), and 210 have serious difficulty walking: the two kinds of help most often needed in the weeks after a stroke.

At the Georgia median aide wage of $14.07 an hour, 20 hours of help a week comes to about $1,219 a month in wages, which is 19% of the $6,284 monthly median income of Chattanooga Valley households headed by someone 65 or older. Private rates are agreed directly with the caregiver, so yours may be higher or lower. Georgia's state rate is lower than the federal one, so employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act pay at least the federal $7.25 an hour (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 Medicaid programs for family caregivers: who can be paid, and the rules in 12 states.