Home Care in Taft, CA
Everlight Care provides non-medical home care in Taft, CA, through our Bakersfield office, helping older adults stay safe, comfortable and independent in the homes they know. Our caregivers offer companionship, personal care, Alzheimer's and dementia care, respite for family caregivers, support after a hospital stay and 24-hour care for anyone who shouldn't be alone. Every plan for in-home care in Taft, CA, is built around the person's own routine, from what time they like breakfast to how they spend their afternoons, and it changes as their needs do.
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Non-Medical Home Care for Taft Seniors and Families
Everlight Care is a locally owned and family-operated home care agency, and we look after families all across Kern County from our Bakersfield office. We live and work in Kern County, too, and that local connection shapes everything from how we match caregivers to how flexible we can be with scheduling. Our caregivers are Everlight Care employees, highly trained and carefully selected, and they have our care team behind them every step of the way.
Two kinds of agencies show up when families look for senior home care in Taft, and it helps to know which one you need. Medical home health brings skilled nursing and therapy into the house. Non-medical home care is help with daily living at home: bathing and dressing, meals, errands, a ride to the doctor, good company and someone keeping a kind eye on things. Non-medical home care is the kind Everlight Care provides.
Home Care Services in Taft
Every service below is available to families in Taft, and most families use a mix that shifts over time. Here's what a caregiver actually does once they're in the home.
Companion Care
A companion caregiver is good company first, someone to chat with over coffee or sit beside for a favorite show. They also take care of meal preparation, errands, light housekeeping and transportation to appointments, and our companionship and help around the house can run a few hours a week or every day, whatever suits your loved one.
Personal Care
Personal care is hands-on help with the most private parts of the day. Caregivers help with bathing, dressing, grooming and toileting, with getting in and out of bed or a chair, and with medication reminders. Our help with bathing, dressing and moving around safely is never rushed and is always done the way your loved one likes it.
Alzheimer's and Dementia Care
A steady routine makes the day feel safer for someone living with memory loss. Dementia care in Taft keeps meals, hygiene and activities on a familiar rhythm, with safety supervision and support to help prevent wandering, from caregivers who receive specialized training in Alzheimer's and dementia care, including gentle cueing and calm redirection.
Respite Care
Family caregivers get tired, and taking a break is part of caring well for someone. Respite care in Taft can cover a few hours while you rest or run errands, daily help around your work hours, or 24-hour care while you're away for a weekend, and our breaks for family caregivers include as much or as little care as you need.
24-Hour and Overnight Care
Some seniors are safest with someone close by at all hours. With 24 hour home care in Taft, caregivers work in shifts, so someone is always awake and ready to help, even in the middle of the night. Families who mainly need help after dark can choose overnight care, and our around-the-clock care with awake caregivers covers every hour of the day.
Hospital to Home Care
The first days after a hospital stay are when a little extra help goes a long way. A caregiver can bring your loved one home from the hospital, have a meal ready, keep up with medication reminders, steady them as they move around and watch for fall risks, and our support for the trip home and the recovery that follows can be short-term or extended if they need more time.
Veterans Home Care
Taft is home to about 200 veterans, and most of them, 125 in all, are in their late 60s or early 70s. Our home care for Veterans and surviving spouses includes help with benefits such as Aid and Attendance, and Everlight Care is a credentialed provider in the VA Community Care Network.
Why Taft Families Choose Everlight Care
Letting a caregiver into your home, or into your mom or dad's home, takes trust. We hire only a small percentage of the people who apply, and every one of the caregivers we send to homes in Taft, CA, is screened, trained, bonded and insured. Each caregiver is carefully matched to the person they'll be caring for, by personality and preferences as well as by care needs.
Behind every caregiver is a full care team. Your loved one gets a personalized care plan, and our care managers provide ongoing oversight and regular check-ins along the way. Someone is available 24/7, including evenings, weekends and holidays. Carrie Cook, our lead supervisor, schedules care, does caregiver and client check-ins and works with families to match each client with the right caregiver.
Our CEO and owner, Gina Kendall, has more than 40 years of experience serving older adults and people with disabilities. Her work as a social services coordinator at a skilled nursing facility showed her how much personalized home care matters, and she founded Everlight Care in 2017 to provide it.
Caring for an Older Adult in Taft
About 1,027 of Taft's 7,125 residents are 65 or older, roughly one neighbor in seven. Chances are you can count a few older neighbors on your own street.
Older adults living alone are a big part of that picture. Of the Taft households that include someone 65 or older, nearly half are one person living on their own, 386 homes in all. A caregiver who comes by a few times a week brings company, a warm meal and someone who notices when something seems different.
Other times a husband or wife is doing the caregiving, and it's starting to wear on them. Or the grown kids live in Bakersfield or farther away, and they want someone checking in and keeping them posted between their own visits.
Taft sits on the West Side, with Ford City, Taft Heights and South Taft close by, and the bigger hospitals and specialists are over in Bakersfield. Those trips into town add up over a month. Our caregivers can take your loved one to appointments and run errands along the way, and we serve Taft and the surrounding Kern County communities.
Senior Resources and Healthcare Near Taft
Here are a few local resources that work well alongside care at home.
Healthcare
Same-day care is close to home at West Side Family Health Care in Taft, run by the West Side Health Care District, which welcomes walk-ins and offers same-day and weekend appointments until 9:00 PM each day. The clinic is staffed for sudden illness and minor injuries, with some lab and X-ray services, and emergencies go to a hospital emergency room. Hospital stays usually mean a trip to Bakersfield, to Adventist Health Bakersfield, Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, Mercy Hospital Downtown, Mercy Hospital Southwest or Kern Medical. Hospital to Home Care can bring your loved one back to Taft and help through the first days of recovery.
Senior Center and Meals
Lunch is served at the Taft Senior Center, 500 Cascade Pl., at 11:00 Monday through Friday for anyone 60 or older, with a contribution requested and reservations up to 24 hours ahead sometimes needed. Homebound seniors 60 and up can apply for home-delivered Meals on Wheels through the West Kern coordinator, who covers Taft, Maricopa and Frazier Park. Applying takes a needs assessment and a doctor's referral, and the county has a waitlist right now, so a caregiver can cook at home in the meantime.
Getting Around
Taft Area Transit, which serves Taft and Maricopa, runs a Dial-A-Ride service, and seniors 60 and older pay a reduced $2.00 fare, with the general fare at $3.00. Kern Transit's Route 120 runs between Taft and Bakersfield Monday through Saturday, and a caregiver can help with transportation on the days the bus isn't the easiest way to get there.
County Aging Services
Kern County Aging and Adult Services runs the Senior Information and Referral Program, part of California's network of 33 Area Agencies on Aging. The program connects older adults with benefits help and local programs, including In Home Supportive Services.
Paying for Home Care in Taft
Families pay for home care in Taft in a few different ways. Private pay is one option. Veterans and surviving spouses may qualify for VA benefits, including Aid and Attendance, a monthly benefit for eligible wartime Veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily activities like bathing, dressing and meals, and we help families through the process and connect them with the right resources. Long-term care insurance can help pay for care when your loved one has a policy. Everlight Care is also partnered with Valley Caregiver Resource Center, which pays for respite care, and that can give a family caregiver some real time off. Additional options may be available, depending on your loved one's situation.
Getting Started with Home Care in Taft
Getting started takes three simple steps. It begins with a phone consultation, a conversation where we get to know your loved one's needs and goals and see together whether we're a good fit. Next comes an in-home consultation, where we meet with you and your loved one at home to learn about your situation and build the care plan. Then care gets underway, and our team keeps supporting you and adjusts the plan as needs change.
Care can often begin within 24 to 48 hours after the initial consultation and assessment, which helps a lot when a discharge date or a change at home comes up fast.
Every family's situation has its own details, and the easiest way to talk through yours is to get in touch through our Contact Us page or fill out the form on this page. When you do, you'll hear back from our staff by phone and email, with answers to your questions.
Driving Directions from Taft, CA to Everlight Care
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Everlight Care provide home care in Taft?
Yes. Our Bakersfield office serves Taft, along with Bakersfield, Tehachapi, Ridgecrest, Delano, Wasco, Shafter, Oildale, Arvin, Lake Isabella and the surrounding Kern County communities. Families in Taft get the same screened caregivers, care managers and 24/7 support that every Everlight Care client has.
What home care services are available in Taft?
Everlight Care offers non-medical home care in Taft, including companion care, personal care at home, Alzheimer's and dementia care, respite care, 24-hour and overnight care, hospital to home care and Veterans home care. Services can be combined, and the plan can be adjusted as your loved one's needs change.
How quickly can home care start?
Care can often begin within 24 to 48 hours after the initial consultation and assessment. That quick start helps when a loved one is coming home from the hospital or a family caregiver suddenly needs a hand.
Are your caregivers employees, and are they insured?
Yes. Every caregiver is an employee of Everlight Care, and each one is thoroughly screened, trained, bonded and insured. We hire only a small percentage of applicants, and our care managers keep up regular check-ins once care begins.
Is care available at night, on weekends and on holidays?
Yes. Everlight Care provides services 24/7, including evenings, weekends and holidays. You can choose hourly visits, overnight care or 24-hour care, depending on what your loved one needs.
Can a caregiver help after a hospital stay in Bakersfield?
Yes. Hospital to Home Care can include the ride home from the hospital, meal preparation, medication reminders, mobility support, help with personal care and steps to reduce fall risks while your loved one recovers back home in Taft.
How do families pay for home care?
Families use private pay, Veterans benefits including Aid and Attendance, and long-term care insurance. Everlight Care is also partnered with Valley Caregiver Resource Center, which pays for respite care, and additional options may be available.
