Hospital sitters and private sitters

Hospitals are short-staffed and nurses cannot be in one room all night. Families hire a private sitter so somebody is actually there — watching, reassuring, and calling the nurse when something changes.

This is the service people search for as a hospital sitter, patient sitter, private duty sitter or simply somebody to stay with mom in the hospital. It is the same thing. Our sitters go where the patient is: hospital rooms, rehab, skilled nursing and assisted living.

What is included

• One-to-one company through the day or night
• Watching for confusion, agitation and restlessness
• Helping prevent falls and pulled-out IV lines
• Calling the nurse when something changes
• Help with meals, drinks and comfort
• Reassurance for someone frightened or disoriented
• Keeping family updated while they are at work
• Continuing the same caregiver at home after discharge

Families call us for a sitter when

• A parent gets confused in hospital, especially at night
• Nobody can take another night off work
• Someone is a fall risk and keeps trying to get up
• A relative is dying and should not be alone
• The hospital has said one-to-one supervision is needed

Sitters are non-medical. They do not give medications or perform procedures — the hospital staff do that. What they provide is presence, and it is usually the thing families most regret not arranging. This is a private pay service; some long-term care policies reimburse part of it.