Overnight help is sold as one thing, but it covers different jobs. This sheet sorts them so you size the arrangement to the nights your parent actually needs, not to a full seven-night default.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Step 1: Decide which kind of night you need

  1. Awake overnight: someone stays up through the night and is ready to respond at any hour.
  2. Asleep on call: someone sleeps in the house and can be woken if the parent calls out.
  3. Check-in visit: someone comes for a set time at night, then leaves.

Write here: Kind of night I think we need: ______________________

Step 2: Count the nights

For the next two weeks, mark each night as needed, not needed, or unsure. Note what happened and who responded. A night when nobody was needed is information too.

Night 1 ____ Night 2 ____ Night 3 ____ Night 4 ____ Night 5 ____ Night 6 ____ Night 7 ____

Step 3: Check who else is in the house

  • Is another adult home overnight, and would they take any of the nights?
  • Does the parent share the house with anyone who sleeps lightly or works shifts?
  • Is there a spare room, or does the caregiver need a chair or a sleeping area?

Step 4: Ask the provider how each kind of night is defined

  1. Ask what the caregiver is expected to do in each kind of night, in writing.
  2. Ask whether the caregiver may leave the house during the night, and under what conditions.
  3. Ask what happens if the parent needs help the caregiver is not trained for. Ask the parent's doctor which night events need a call, rather than guessing.

Step 5: Signs the overnight plan is too big

  • Most nights pass with no call, no wake, and no need for response.
  • The family is paying for full nights when a check-in would cover the real need.

Step 6: Signs the plan is too small

  • The parent calls out or gets up on most nights and the cover is a visit only.
  • Family members are waking every night to fill the gap themselves.

Write here: Nights that need someone: ______ Kind of cover that fits: ______________________ Who else covers: ______________________

Take the completed count to the provider and ask for a quote on the fitted option only. For local options while you compare, see Local Help for Hiring a Caregiver.