Staying home in Starr County, TX: services and support for older adults

Most older adults in Starr County who want to stay in their own home can, if the right pieces are in place: rides, meals, a little help in the house, someone watching the paperwork, and family who know the day is going normally. This page covers the whole county, including 63 smaller city or towns that share it.

1. The Area Agency on Aging

The Area Agency on Aging for Starr County is the first call; the Eldercare Locator (1-800-677-1116) connects you to it. Under the Older Americans Act it arranges, free or on a donation basis, home-delivered and congregate meals, rides to medical appointments, homemaker and chore help, caregiver respite, legal assistance, and an in-home assessment of what is needed. It also runs or refers to the nearest senior center and to the state's free SHIP Medicare counselors.

2. In-home help through Medicaid

Texas's Medicaid program, Medicaid, pays for help at home for people who would otherwise qualify for a nursing home, through home and community-based services waivers: personal care, homemaker help, adult day health, respite and some home modifications. Eligibility is by income, assets and level of need. The Area Agency on Aging, or the state's Aging and Disability Resource Center (same phone line), does the screening and the application.

3. Medical care at home

After a hospital or rehab stay, a doctor can order Medicare-covered home health: nursing, physical and occupational therapy, and a home health aide for a few weeks. You may choose any Medicare-certified agency that serves the area; each city or town page below lists them by distance. For a serious illness, hospice is covered in full by Medicare, almost always at home.

4. Making the house work

Grab bars, a ramp, a first-floor bathroom and better lighting prevent most of the problems that end independent living. Sources of help: the Area Agency on Aging's home modification or chore program; Rebuilding Together affiliates; the USDA Section 504 repair grants for rural homeowners 62 and over; the state's Assistive Technology Act program (at3center.net); and the Medicaid waivers above.

5. Technology that fills the gap between visits

Family who live far away, or who work, need a way to know the day is going normally without calling three times. The options, roughly in order of cost:

Medical alert pendants and watches (many vendors; the Area Agency on Aging can usually recommend a local one).
A shared calendar and a weekly video call, which cost nothing and catch more than most devices.
Livindi (made by the company that operates this site) is a connected-care system for an older adult living at home: a simple tablet for video calls and reminders, plus motion, door and sleep sensors that let family see, from their own phone, that the day is going normally. Family members are the ones who watch; there is no monitoring center. It is one option among several listed above, and it does not replace the Council on Aging, the ASAP or a home health agency. How it works.
Automatic medication dispensers, available from several pharmacies.

Disclosure: this site is operated by Livindi, Inc. The listing above is the only place on this page where its product appears, and nothing else on this site is affected by that relationship. More.

6. When home is no longer enough

Signs that more is needed: repeated falls, weight loss, missed medications, wandering, or a caregiver who is exhausted. Start with the Area Agency on Aging's assessment, then compare the facilities on each city or town page using the public record. Providers based in Starr County: 2 nursing homes, 7 home health, 2 hospice.

City or towns in Starr County

With their own Staying Home page:

Covered by this page:

Starr County · Staying home in Texas