Personal Care Homes (PCHs) are residences that provide shelter, meals, supervision and assistance with personal care tasks, typically for older people, or people with physical, behavioral health, or cognitive disabilities who are unable to care for themselves but do not need nursing home or medical care. While available services vary and are based on the individual needs of each resident, services provided at a typical PCH include assistance with:
Eating/drinking
Walking/getting in and out of bed or chair
Toileting/bowel and bladder management
Bathing
Personal hygiene
Arranging for and managing health care
Making/keeping doctor’s appointments
Assisting with or administering medications
Positioning in bed or chair
Doing laundry
Arranging for transportation
Shopping/managing finances
Using the telephone/writing letters
Caring for possessions
Participating in social/recreational activities
Using prosthetics
Getting and caring for seasonal clothes
Personal Care Homes are inspected and licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. They are usually privately-owned, although some are operated by local governments or non-profit agencies. In Pennsylvania, homes may be licensed to care for as few as four people and as many as several hundred.