SmartCare Assessment
Before Care Begins, Understand What Care Is Truly Needed
The SmartCare Assessment gives your family a clearer understanding of your loved one’s needs, abilities, risks, and goals before in-home care begins. We assess the whole person and how they function in the environment —not just a list of daily tasks — so the right level of support can be put in place from the beginning.
Comprehensive. Personalized. Performed in the home. Built around the individual.
Care should never begin with guesswork
What is a SmartCare Assessment?
The SmartCare Assessment is a comprehensive in-home evaluation used to help determine what type and level of care will best support the individual.
During the assessment, our team takes the time to understand:
- How your loved one functions throughout the day in their environment
- Their physical abilities and limitations
- Cognitive or behavioral concerns
- Emotional and social needs
- Activities of daily living
- Safety risks within the home
- Existing routines and personal preferences
- The family’s concerns and desired outcomes
- Who is currently responsible for different areas of care
You’re First Home Care has used its SmartCare Assessment process for more than 10 years as the foundation for developing customized care plans
What the assessment evaluates
Six Areas That Shape a Complete Picture of Health
Changes in Physical or Cognitive Condition
We look for changes that should be monitored and communicated to family members or healthcare providers.
This may include changes in:
- Mobility
- Strength
- Balance
- Awareness
- Memory
- Mood
- Behavior
- Ability to complete everyday activities
Safety in the Home
The home should support independence without creating unnecessary risks.
We evaluate environmental concerns that may affect safety, including potential fall hazards, difficult transfer areas, clutter, rugs, bathroom safety, and other conditions that could make everyday activities more difficult.
Self-Reliance and Independence
The goal is not to take over every task. It is to identify where assistance is needed while helping the individual maintain as much independence as safely possible.
This includes evaluating activities of daily living such as:
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Grooming
- Toileting
- Eating
- Walking and transferring
- Maintaining daily routines
Quality of Life
Good care should do more than help someone get through the day.
We consider the activities, relationships, routines, and interests that give the individual a sense of purpose, connection, and enjoyment. In other words, a life worth living.
Care Management
Families often struggle because no one has clearly defined who is responsible for each part of care.
The assessment helps identify the roles of:
- Family members
- Professional caregivers
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Therapists
- Pharmacies
- Other care providers
Aging in Place
The assessment helps determine what support and safeguards may be needed for your loved one to remain in their home as safely and successfully as possible.
These six areas—changes in condition, environmental safety, independence, quality of life, care management, and aging in place—form the core of the SmartCare Assessment.
More than a checklist
A Blueprint for Better Care — Not a List of Tasks.
Many home care providers begin with a basic list — prepare meals, help with bathing, complete light housekeeping, medication reminders. Those tasks may be important, but they don't explain how care should be delivered, what to watch for or what outcomes the family wants.
The SmartCare Plan of Care Ducuments:
- Physical challenges and health conditions
- Identified risks
- Daily routines
- Social, cognitive and physical activities
- Specific care requirements
- Changes the caregiver should monitor
- Personal likes and dislikes
- Short and long-term care goals
Caregivers are also trained to observe safety, personal care, gait, cognition, medication routines, socialization and strength during each shift.
Who Should consider an assessment
If Any of These Feel Familiar, an Assessment Can Help.
You don't need every answer before contacting us. Helping your family understand the situation is part of the assessment process.
Returned home from the hospital or rehabilitation
Falls or near-falls have become a concern
A new diagnosis has changed the person's needs
Multiple family members or providers are involved
They want to remain at home but may need help
Changes in mobility, strength, balance or memory
Personal care or household routines are harder
Family caregivers are feeling overwhelmed
You're unsure how many hours of support are needed
You want a clear plan before hiring a caregiver
Care that considers the whole person
Support Built Around a Life - Not a Service Package.
SmartCare looks beyond physical assistance. Our programs are designed around four interconnected areas:
Physical
Mobility, strength, personal care, nutrition, routines and daily functioning.
Cognitive
Memory, awareness, decision-making, behavior and mental engagement.
Emotional
Mood, confidence, dignity, anxiety and sense of purpose.
Companionship
Relationships, companionship, family involvement and community connection.
Why families choose smartcare
A Different Starting Point — And a Different Result
You don't need every answer before contacting us. Helping your family understand the situation is part of the assessment process.
01
Care Begins with Understanding
Recommendations come from a real assessment of the individual, the family and the home.
Built around one person's conditions, routines, preferences, abilities and goals.
03
Responsibilities Are Clearly Defined
Caregivers, family and providers know their roles.
04
Changes Are Monitored
Caregivers know what warning signs and changes to observe and report.
05
The Plan Can Involve
Reviewed and adjusted as conditions and circumstances change.
06
Independence remains a priority
The right support — without unnecessarily taking away autonomy.
Give Your Family a Clearer Path Forward
You shouldn't have to guess what kind of care your loved one needs. The SmartCare Assessment identifies needs, risks, strengths, responsibilities and goals — so your family can make a more informed decision about in-home care.
Frequently asked questions
What Families Ask Us Most.
+Is the SmartCare Assessment completed in the home?
+When is the assessment completed?
+Is the SmartCare Assessment a medical diagnosis?
+What happens after the assessment?
+How often is the Plan of Care updated?
+Can family members participate?
+Does the assessment determine how many hours of care are needed?
+What should we prepare before the assessment?
