What is private duty nursing, and when does someone need a nurse instead of an aide?

Private duty nursing means a licensed nurse (RN or LPN) provides skilled care at home on a scheduled basis, and someone needs a nurse instead of an aide when the care involves medical tasks like wound care, injections, IV therapy, catheter care or clinical assessment.

What an aide usually does: help with bathing, dressing, toileting, walking, meals, light housekeeping, companionship and medication reminders. In New York, aides can remind and observe but cannot open bottles, measure doses or hand pills.

What a nurse does: changes dressings, gives injections, manages IVs and catheters, assesses symptoms, teaches the family, and sets up medications.

How to decide:

• If her needs are mostly daily living and safety, an aide is usually enough.
• If she has a wound, injections, a feeding tube, IV, or a condition that needs frequent clinical checks, a nurse is needed for those tasks.
• Many families combine both: short nurse visits plus an aide for daily care.

Ask her doctor which tasks need a nurse. If she is homebound after a hospital stay, Medicare may cover part-time skilled nursing through a certified home health agency; call 1-800-MEDICARE to confirm.

ProLife offers private RN visits from $95/hour, and an RN writes every aide's care plan; see https://prolifehc.com/nurse-services/.