Every agency lists the places it serves, and that list is the first filter a family can check without a phone call. It looks like a simple set of town names, but it sets how far an aide travels between visits, which towns can share a shift, and what happens at the edge of the map. Compare offices on this line before any other feature, because even a fully staffed agency outside your route cannot help a household on the far side of the boundary.

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.

Lay the service area on a map

Write each office's stated towns, then mark them on a map of St. Charles County and west St. Louis County. Mark the home address as well. Draw a ring around the home that matches the travel distance the agency describes, and check whether the office sits inside it. An office that lists towns in a loop far from the home may still serve the home, but ask how travel is counted for that loop.

Check the edge rules

Most edge problems come from wording. Ask each office to define these three points in writing:

  • whether a town name covers the whole town or only the part near the office
  • which side of a county line the office counts when a home sits on the boundary
  • whether a visit that starts inside the area and ends outside it counts as inside or outside

Compare reach, not the logo

Place the offices side by side on the same map. For each one, check how many of the household's regular stops fall inside its stated zone, such as the home, the grocery, the family member's house, and the doctor's office. Mark each stop yes or no and write the result beside the office name. This is a comparison of reach, not of quality, but reach decides whether a visit can happen at all. Study further the office that reaches every stop with the fewest open edge questions.

Ask what the map cannot answer

  • Which aide team serves my home, and do those aides live in the same part of the county?
  • When the assigned team is unavailable, which towns does the backup team come from?
  • Has the office changed its service area over time, and how does it tell families when it does?
  • Who answers travel questions when a stop sits outside the stated zone?

Use the county pages to test the zone

A stated zone can look wider than the number of workers who live inside it. Before you trust a zone, read how supply is counted in your county, then compare the office's zone with where local care businesses are listed. The method is explained in how to read a caregiver-supply map for your county. For the regional view of where older residents live, use the county age-share page on this site, which sets the places you should expect coverage to reach first.

Record the answers

Keep one sheet per office with its towns, its written edge rules, and the answers you received. If an office answers an edge question only by phone, ask it to confirm the answer in writing before the comparison closes.