Stroke Recovery Support at Home in Escatawpa, MS

Hospitals with an emergency department near Escatawpa: Singing River Health System in Pascagoula (8.6 mi); USA Health HCA Providence Hospital, LLC in Mobile (20 mi); Springhill Medical Center in Mobile (20 mi). With stroke signs, call 911 rather than driving.

157 Escatawpa residents 65 or older have difficulty dressing or bathing (16%; 10% in Jackson County), and 247 have serious difficulty walking: the two kinds of help most often needed in the weeks after a stroke.

At the Mississippi median aide wage of $11.47 an hour, 20 hours of help a week comes to about $994 a month in wages, which is 37% of the $2,719 monthly median income of Escatawpa households headed by someone 65 or older. Private rates are agreed directly with the caregiver, so yours may be higher or lower. Mississippi 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 Medicaid programs for family caregivers: who can be paid, and the rules in 12 states.