The short answer: In Daytona Beach and the rest of Volusia and Flagler Counties, most home care companies won't send a caregiver for less than 3 or 4 hours at a time, and many want a weekly commitment of 12 to 20 hours before they'll take you on. TrustWise Care has no minimum visit, no weekly minimum, and no contract. At our flat $34 an hour, 5 hours a week is $170, 10 hours is $340, 15 hours is $510, and 20 hours is $680 — nights, weekends, and holidays at the same rate.
Here's why minimums exist, what you can do without them, and what each schedule costs.
Why most home care companies require minimum hours
Minimums are an agency's problem turned into your bill. Sending a caregiver across town for a two-hour visit costs the company nearly as much in scheduling and travel as a six-hour visit, so most agencies set a floor — three or four hours per visit is the Florida norm, and some franchises require 20 hours a week.
The result is that families who need a little help end up paying for a lot of it, or go without. The daughter who only needs someone at lunchtime pays for a four-hour block. The husband who needs a shower assist three mornings a week is told the minimum is twelve hours. Many simply decide home care is "not for them yet" — and the parent goes without help until something breaks.
What "no minimums" means in practice
At TrustWise Care there is:
- No minimum visit length. A two-hour visit is a two-hour visit.
- No weekly minimum. One afternoon a week is fine.
- No contract. You are not locked into a schedule, a term, or a number of hours.
- No surcharges. $34 an hour, flat, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.
- No setup or registration fees.
Overnight, 24-hour, and live-in arrangements are quoted separately because they involve multiple shifts; everything else is the flat rate.
What it costs per week and per month
| Hours per week | A typical schedule | Per week | Per month (4.33 wks) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 hours | A two-hour visit, two or three days a week, while you're at work | $170 | about $736 |
| 10 hours | Two hours every weekday — a meal, medication reminders, a shower | $340 | about $1,472 |
| 15 hours | Three hours a day on weekdays, or longer visits on fewer days | $510 | about $2,208 |
| 20 hours | Four hours a day on weekdays, or a few full days | $680 | about $2,944 |
| 30 hours | Six hours a day on weekdays — most of the waking day covered | $1,020 | about $4,417 |
For comparison, assisted living in Florida commonly runs $5,900 a month or more, and memory care considerably more than that. Twenty hours a week of care at home — four hours every weekday — is about half the cost of a facility, and your parent keeps her own kitchen, her own bed, and her own neighbors.
The schedules families actually build
The lunchtime visit (5–10 hours a week). A caregiver arrives late morning, makes lunch, handles medication reminders, helps with a shower or a walk, and leaves after two hours. Perfect for the parent who is fine most of the day but shouldn't be alone for all of it, and for the adult child who is at work. This is the schedule families ask us about most.
The morning routine (10–15 hours a week). Three hours each weekday morning: getting up safely, dressing, breakfast, the pill organizer, a tidy kitchen. The hardest part of the day, handled.
The evening wind-down (10 hours a week). Two hours each evening for dinner, a shower, and settling in — common for families where sundowning makes evenings difficult.
The caregiver's day off (4–8 hours a week). One afternoon or one full day a week so the spouse or daughter who does everything can stop — see our respite care guide.
The after-hospital bridge (20–30 hours for two weeks). Daily coverage during the first weeks home from Halifax Health or AdventHealth, then back to a lighter schedule. See hospital discharge to home care in Volusia County.
Scaling up over time. Many families start at five hours a week and add hours as needs change. Because there is no contract, nothing has to be renegotiated — you call, we adjust.
What a two-hour visit can actually cover
Families are sometimes surprised by how much fits in a short, well-planned visit:
- A hot meal, prepared and cleaned up
- Medication reminders at the right time (reminders — not administration)
- Help in and out of the shower, dressing, grooming
- A short walk or exercises the physical therapist left
- Company — a conversation, the mail, a card game
- A quick check: is she eating, is the house safe, did anything change?
- A written or texted update to the family
The visit works because the caregiver arrives already knowing the routine. At the free consultation we learn the schedule, the meals, the medication times, and the way your parent likes things done. You explain it once, to us.
Who comes
Every caregiver TrustWise Care refers is a Florida-certified nursing assistant (CNA) or a home health aide with documented Florida training, has cleared a Level 2 fingerprint background screening, holds current CPR, has verified references, and has been reviewed by our RN Administrator before any referral. Whenever possible the same caregiver comes every visit, so a short visit feels like a familiar friend stopping by, not a stranger with a clipboard.
How to start with a few hours a week
- Call (386) 585-7977 or request a free consultation. A real person answers seven days a week.
- Tell us the hard hours. Lunchtime? Mornings? Saturday? We build the schedule around the gaps, not around a minimum.
- The free consultation. We meet your parent at home, learn the routine, and answer the money questions plainly — the full rate card is on our pricing page.
- The match, then the first visit. Help can start right away once a caregiver is matched — often within days.
No minimums, no contract, $34 an hour. Start with the hours you need.
TrustWise Care LLC is a Florida AHCA-licensed nurse registry (#30213194) serving Volusia and Flagler Counties — Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach, DeLand, Deltona, Palm Coast, and the surrounding communities. Caregivers referred by TrustWise Care are independent contractors; the registry screens, matches, and coordinates. Free consultation: (386) 585-7977.