It's no secret, most of us would like to stay in our own home as we age. Yet, sometimes our loved ones just need a little extra help to remain comfortable at home. That's where Always Best Care can help....we are dedicated to exceeding expectations....always.
They say that your golden years are the best years of your life. For most older Americans, that's how it should be - a time to relax, reflect, and live life in a familiar place. After all, senior citizens in the U.S. have worked tirelessly to build a better economy, serve their communities, and raise families.
However, as seniors grow older, completing daily tasks like showering and enjoying activities such as visiting Old Town Irvine in Irvine, CA gets harder without someone by their side. Unfortunately, many older Americans aren't able to rely on their adult children for help. The reality in today's world is that family members do not have the skills or time to dedicate to caring for their parents. That's where Always Best Care Senior Services comes in.
Our in-home care services are for people who prefer to stay at home as they grow older but need ongoing care that family or friends cannot provide. More and more older adults prefer to live far away from long-term, institutionalized facilities and closer to the place where they feel most comfortable - their home. Home care in Irvine, CA is a safe, effective way to give your loved ones the care they need when they need it the most.
Home Care Services
Service AreasSince 1996, Always Best Care has provided non-medical in-home care for seniors to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle as they get older. We are proud to have helped more than 25,000 seniors maintain higher levels of dignity and respect. We focus on providing seniors with the highest level of in-home care available so that they may live happily and independently.
Unlike some senior care companies, we genuinely want to be included in our clients' lives. We believe that personalized care is always the better option over a "one size fits all" approach. To make sure our senior clients receive the best care possible, we pair them with compassionate caregivers who understand their unique needs. That way, they may provide care accordingly without compromising their wellbeing.
The Always Best Care difference lies in life's little moments - where compassionate care and trustworthy experience come together to help seniors live a fruitful, healthy life. Whether you are an aging adult that can't quite keep up with life's daily tasks or the child of a senior who needs regular in-home services, Always Best Care is here to help.
Home is where the heart is. While that saying can sound a tad cliche, it is especially true for many seniors living in America. When given a choice, older adults most often prefer to grow older at home. An AARP study found that three out of four adults over the age of 50 want to stay in their homes and communities as they age.
When you begin to think about why, it makes sense. Home offers a sense of security, comfort, and familiarity.
The truth is, as we age, we begin to rely on others for help. When a family is too busy or lives too far away to fulfill this role, in-home senior care is often the best solution. Home care services allow seniors to enjoy personal independence while also receiving trustworthy assistance from a trained caregiver.
At Always Best Care, we offer a comprehensive range of home care services to help seniors stay healthy while they get the help they need to remain independent. As your senior loved one gets older, giving them the gift of senior care is one of the best ways to show your love, even if you live far away.
To give our senior clients the best care possible, we offer a full spectrum of in-home care services:
If your senior loved one has specific care needs, our personal care services are a great choice to consider. Personal care includes the standard caregiving duties associated with companion care and includes help with tasks such as dressing and grooming. Personal care can also help individuals with chronic conditions like diabetes.
Common personal care services include assistance with:
Sometimes, seniors need helpful reminders to maintain a high quality of life at home. If you or your senior has trouble with everyday tasks like cooking, our home helper services will be very beneficial.
Common home helper care services include assistance with:
Using this kind of care is a fantastic way to make life easier for you or your senior loved one. At Always Best Care, our talented caregivers often fill the role of a companion for seniors. That way, older adults can enjoy their favorite local activities, such as visiting Great Park in Irvine, CA with friends while also receiving the care they need daily or weekly.
Common companionship services include:
According to AARP, more than 53 million adults living in the U.S. provide care to someone over 50 years old. Unfortunately, these caregivers experience stress, exhaustion, and even depression. Our respite care services help family caregivers address urgent obligations, spend time with their children, and enjoy nearby activities. Perhaps more importantly, respite care gives family members time to recharge and regroup. Taking personal time to de-stress reduces the risk of caregiver burnout. So, if you've always wanted to eat at the local Bistango in Irvine or visit Irvine Ranch Historic Park, don't feel bad. Doing so is great for both you and your loved one.
At the end of the day, our goal is to become a valuable part of your senior's daily routine. That way, we may help give them the highest quality of life possible. We know that staying at home is important for your loved one, and we are here to help make sure that is possible.
If you have been on the fence about non-medical home care, there has never been a better time than now to give your senior the care, assistance, and companionship they deserve.
Always Best Care in-home services are for older adults who prefer to stay at home but need ongoing care that friends and family cannot provide. In-home care is a safe, effective way for seniors to age gracefully in a familiar place and live independent, non-institutionalized lives. The benefits of non-medical home care are numerous. Here are just a few reasons to consider senior care services from Always Best Care:
According to AARP, 9 out of 10 seniors prefer to age in place within the comfort of their own home. With in-home care, seniors have a way to stay at home, receive the care they need, and maintain a sense of independence, improving overall wellness.
If you or a member of your family have assumed the role of caregiver for your senior loved one, you know how stressful the job can be. Between caregiver burnout and constant worry, being a family caregiver is hard. In-home care relieves your burden and gives you peace of mind knowing that your older family member is in expert hands.
Unlike nursing homes, where the staff and residents rotate frequently, seniors can foster new friendships and build bonds with their caregiver. Seniors who socialize on a regular basis are often happier, which fosters positivity and leads to increased wellbeing.
No two seniors need the same kind of in-home care assistance. That is why each of our Care Plans is tailored to meet our client's individual needs. We offer plans that cover everything from light housekeeping to more involved duties like transportation to doctor's appointments. Our Care Coordinators will work closely with you to develop a personalized plan to ensure your senior's needs are exceeded.
Always Best Care offers a full array of care options for patients at all levels of health. With our trusted elderly care services, your loved one will receive the level of care necessary for them to enjoy the highest possible quality of life.
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While it's true that some seniors have complicated medical needs that prevent them from staying at home, aging in place is often the best arrangement for seniors and their families. With a trusted caregiver, seniors have the opportunity to live with a sense of dignity and do so as they see fit - something that is unavailable to many older people today.
In-home care makes it possible for millions of seniors to age in place every year. Rather than moving to a strange nursing home, seniors have the chance to stay at home where they feel the happiest and most comfortable.
How much does a senior's home truly mean to them?
A study published by the American Society on Aging found that more than half of seniors say their home's emotional value means more than how much their home is worth in monetary value. It stands to reason, then, that a senior's home is where they want to grow old.
With the help of elderly care in Irvine, CA, seniors don't have to age in a sterilized care facility. Instead, they can age gracefully in the place they want to be most: their home. In contrast, seniors who move to a long-term care facility must adapt to new environments, new people, and new systems that the facility implements. At this stage in life, this kind of drastic change can be more harmful than helpful.
Institutional care facilities like nursing homes often put large groups of people together to live in one location. On any given day, dozens of staff members and caregivers run in and out of these facilities. Being around so many new people in a relatively small living environment can be dangerous for a seniors' health and wellbeing. When you consider that thousands of seniors passed away in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, opting for in-home care is often a safer, healthier choice for seniors.
Aging in place has been shown to improve seniors' quality of life, which helps boost physical health and also helps insulate them from viral and bacterial risks found in elderly living facilities.
For many seniors, the ability to live independently with assistance from a caregiver is a priceless option. With in-home care, seniors experience a higher level of independence and freedom - much more so than in other settings like a nursing home. When a senior has the chance to age in place, they get to live life on their own terms, inside the house that they helped make into a home. More independence means more control over their personal lives, too, which leads to increased levels of fulfillment, happiness, and personal gratification. Over time, these positive feelings can manifest into a healthier, longer life.
More independence, a healthier life, and increased comfort are only a few benefits of aging in place. You have to take into consideration the role of cost and convenience. Simply put, it's usually easier and more affordable to help seniors age in place than it is to move them into an institutional care facility. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, seniors who age in the comfort of their homes can save thousands of dollars per month.
In-home care services from Always Best Care, for instance, are often less expensive than long-term solutions, which can cost upwards of six figures per year. To make matters worse, many residential care facilities are reluctant to accept long-term care insurance and other types of payment assistance.
With Always Best Care's home care services, seniors and their families have a greater level of control over their care plans. In-home care gives seniors the chance to form a bond with a trusted caregiver and also receive unmatched care that is catered to their needs. In long-term care facilities, seniors and their loved ones have much less control over their care plan and have less of a say in who provides their care.
In-home care is a valuable resource that empowers seniors to age in place on their own terms. However, a big concern for many families and their loved ones is how much in-home care costs. If you're worried that in-home care is too expensive, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that it is one of the most affordable senior care arrangements available.
Typically, hiring an Always Best Care in-home caregiver for a few hours a week is more affordable than sending your loved one to a long-term care facility. This is true even for seniors with more complex care needs.
At Always Best Care, we will work closely with you and your family to develop a Care Plan that not only meets your care needs, but your budget requirements, too. Once we discover the level of care that you or your senior need, we develop an in-home care plan that you can afford.
In addition to our flexible care options, families should also consider the following resources to help offset potential home care costs:
When you or your senior loved one needs assistance managing daily tasks at home, finding a qualified caregiver can be challenging. It takes a special kind of person to provide reliable care for your senior loved one. However, a caregiver's role involves more than meal preparation and medication reminders. Many seniors rely on their caregivers for companionship, too.
Our companion care services give seniors the chance to socialize in a safe environment and engage in activities at home. These important efforts boost morale and provide much-needed relief from repetitive daily routines. A one-on-one, engaging conversation can sharpen seniors' minds and give them something in which to be excited.
At Always Best Care, we only hire care providers that we would trust to care for our own loved ones. Our senior caregivers in Irvine, CA understand how important it is to listen and communicate with their seniors. A seemingly small interaction, like a short hug goodbye, can make a major difference in a senior's day. Instead of battling against feelings of isolation, seniors begin to look forward to seeing their caregiver each week.
Understanding the nuances of senior care is just one of the reasons why our care providers are so great at their job.
Unlike some senior care companies, our caregivers must undergo extensive training before they work for Always Best Care. In addition, our caregivers receive ongoing training throughout the year. This training ensures that their standard of care matches up to the high standards we've come to expect. During this training, they will brush up on their communication skills, safety awareness, and symptom spotting. That way, your loved one receives the highest level of non-medical home care from day one.
While it's true that many seniors prefer to age at home, sometimes in-home care isn't the best fit. For those seniors and their families, choosing an assisted living facility makes more sense. Unfortunately, finding the optimal care facility is easier said than done in today's day and age. That's when Always Best Care's assisted living referral services begin to make a lot of sense.
Assisted living is a form of housing intended for seniors who require varying degrees of medical and personal attention. Accommodations may include single rooms, apartments, or shared living arrangements. Assisted living communities are typically designed to resemble a home-like environment and are physically constructed to encourage the independence of residents.
At assisted living communities, seniors receive help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and eating. They may also benefit from coordination of services with outside healthcare providers, and monitoring of resident activities to ensure their health, safety, and well-being. Caregivers who work at assisted living communities can also provide medication administration and personal care services for older adults.
Other services offered within assisted living communities can include some or all of the following:
At Always Best Care, our representatives can match your senior's emotional, physical, and financial needs with viable assisted living communities nearby. Results are based on comparative data, so you can select the best choice for you or your loved one.
Always Best Care works closely with local senior living communities to gain valuable knowledge that we then use to help seniors and their loved ones make informed decisions. This information can include basic care and rent, resident availability, and services provided. Because Always Best Care is compensated by these communities, we provide senior living referral services at no extra cost to you.
Some of the most popular assisted living communities to consider in our area include the following:
For many seniors, moving into a senior living community revolves around how and when they want to make a transition to more involved care. Some seniors are more proactive about transitioning to independent living. Others choose to remain home until their care needs or other requirements are satisfied. Remember - our staff is here to help. Contact our office today to learn more about assisted living communities and how we can find a facility that exceeds your expectations.
The first step in getting quality in-home care starts with a personal consultation with an experienced Always Best Care Care Coordinator. This initial consultation is crucial for our team to learn more about you or your elderly loved one to discover the level of care required. Topics of this consultation typically include:
A discussion of your needs and how our trained caregivers can offer assistance in the most effective way
A draft of your care plan, which includes highly detailed notes and a framework for the care that you or your senior will receive
Discuss payment options and help coordinate billing with your insurance provider
Our caregivers are trained to spot changes that clients exhibit, like mental and physical decline. As your trusted senior care company, we will constantly assess and update your Care Plan to meet any new emotional, intellectual, physical, and emotional needs.
If you have never considered in-home care before, we understand that you and your family may have concerns about your Care Plan and its Care Coordinator. To help give you peace of mind, know that every team member and caregiver must undergo comprehensive training before being assigned to a Care Plan.
At the end of the day, we only hire the best of the best at Always Best Care. Whether you need home care in Irvine, CA 24-hours a day or only need a respite for a couple of hours, we are here to serve you.
When you're ready, we encourage you to contact your local Always Best Care representative to set up a Care Consultation. Our Care Coordinators would be happy to meet with you in person to get to know you better, discuss your needs, and help put together a personalized Care Plan specific to your needs.
The University of California, Irvine has completed its acquisition of the Orange County Museum of Art, officially bringing together two renowned institutions under a shared vision of public access, scholarship and cultural engagement. The resulting entity, now named the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art, reflects a dedication to curatorial excellence, community service and the long-term vitality of the area’s visual arts ecosystem.“UC Irvine is committed to ensuring that the region benefits fro...
The University of California, Irvine has completed its acquisition of the Orange County Museum of Art, officially bringing together two renowned institutions under a shared vision of public access, scholarship and cultural engagement. The resulting entity, now named the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art, reflects a dedication to curatorial excellence, community service and the long-term vitality of the area’s visual arts ecosystem.
“UC Irvine is committed to ensuring that the region benefits from a world-class art museum that enriches the cultural fabric of Orange County, advances groundbreaking scholarship, nurtures the next generation of creators and thinkers, and inspires curiosity and connection across diverse audiences,” said Chancellor Howard Gillman.
The name of the unified museum honors OCMA’s legacy, affirms UC Irvine’s academic and public mission, and recognizes the generosity of Jack and Shanaz Langson, whose support has elevated the university’s arts presence. The merger brings together over 9,000 works of art and links faculty, students, artists and community members in a new model of creative collaboration.
With the transaction complete, UC Irvine assumes stewardship of OCMA’s 53,000-square-foot, $98 million facility within the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus. Since opening in its current location in 2022, the Costa Mesa-based museum has quickly become a destination for contemporary art enthusiasts around the nation. Moving forward, the space will also showcase UC Irvine’s celebrated Gerald Buck Collection and Irvine Museum Collection.
The UC Irvine Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art will remain an integral part of the university’s academic mission, operating from an on-campus site to support research, student training and integration across academic programs. At the same time, the Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art will continue to operate at its Von Karman Avenue location in Irvine.
Both entities will continue their planned programming through 2026 as a unified identity takes shape. A transitional landing page will guide visitors to both institutions’ websites, providing uninterrupted access to exhibitions and resources.
As part of the transition, OCMA staff have joined UC Irvine as employees. The university is also conducting a national search for an executive director to lead the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art into its next chapter.
UC Irvine has completed its acquisition of the Orange County Museum of Art, officially launching a newly unified institution: the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art.
The new UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art brings together two extraordinary legacies of collecting, research and exhibition – creating one of the most comprehensive art collections in California.
Together, these collections position the museum as a singular cultural resource – a place where past and present meet and where California’s art history is preserved, studied and integrated with the art of today.
UCI Health‘s newest hospital is slated to start admitting patients on Dec. 7, hospital leaders said, opening a seven-story, 144-bed facility that UCI calls the nation’s first all-electric acute care hospital.The 350,000-square-foot building stands at the corner of Jamboree Road and Birch Street in Irvine and caps a $1.3 billion medical campus that includes a cancer center and ambulatory care building. Hospital officials say the new facility will serve residents of central, coastal and south Orange County and offer specialt...
UCI Health‘s newest hospital is slated to start admitting patients on Dec. 7, hospital leaders said, opening a seven-story, 144-bed facility that UCI calls the nation’s first all-electric acute care hospital.
The 350,000-square-foot building stands at the corner of Jamboree Road and Birch Street in Irvine and caps a $1.3 billion medical campus that includes a cancer center and ambulatory care building. Hospital officials say the new facility will serve residents of central, coastal and south Orange County and offer specialties including cancer care, cardiology, digestive health, neurosciences, orthopedics and spine, along with interventional radiology, catheterization services and advanced imaging.
The hospital and adjacent cancer center are connected by a massive surgical “megafloor,” spanning the width of three football fields, with operating rooms, sterilization areas and flexible pre- and post-op recovery space.
“This is a really historic thing,” said Chad Lefteris, president and CEO of UCI Health at a celebration Friday, Sept. 19, marking the completion of construction and being handed the keys for the health system’s second hospital, adding to its medical center in Orange. “We are finally returning to Irvine as a health system. We’ve been up on the Orange freeway for a while and now we’ve returned fully to meet the needs in Irvine and the central and coastal communities.”
The hospital will be the first of its size in the U.S. to run entirely on electricity.
“This is the first all-electric hospital of this size. No gas line coming into this facility,” said Joe Brothman, UCI Health’s director of general services. “By and large, everything runs through electricity. There’s no carbon combustion used to power heat or cool the hospital.”
Instead, the hospital is powered through a partnership with Southern California Edison. The only fossil-fuel-powered equipment on site is three emergency backup generators connected to a massive diesel tank, which Brothman said is enough to keep the entire campus running for at least 96 hours if power goes out.
UCI Health spokesperson John Murray said the move to all-electric will stabilize energy costs for the health system.
“When energy prices spiked a few winters ago, we were spending an extra million dollars on natural gas,” he said. “This will allow us to even out our budget so money is spent where it needs to be spent.”
Planning for the hospital started during the pandemic, Lefteris said, which meant design teams worked virtually, and with a pandemic mindset. Every inpatient room was built large enough to function as an intensive care unit if needed, effectively creating a 144-bed ICU. Though “not the way it’ll be used on day one,” Lefteris said, the option gets the hospital ready “when the next pandemic comes.”
“We’re built for this,” he said.
Private rooms, rather than curtained bays, make up the emergency department, which has 20 treatment rooms.
The rooms average about 250 square feet and many have floor-to-ceiling windows that look over the San Joaquin Marsh Reserve. Lefteris said the facility was designed to connect patients and staff with nature. There are outdoor garden spaces and a collection of hundreds of works by California artists will be displayed throughout the campus.
“A lot of design attention was also spent on blurring the lines between inside and out … to give our patients a moment to take a breath, to give our coworkers a moment to take a breath, look outside and take in these amazing views,” he said.
The hospital will also be home to UCI’s first facility designed specifically for bone marrow transplant patients, Murray said.
On Friday, guests, including UCI Health leaders and members of the hospital construction team, wrote notes to be placed in a time capsule set to be opened in December 2050.
The hospital completes the Irvine medical campus. Last year, UCI Health opened the Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care and the Center for Children’s Health and the UCI Health Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders. The campus also includes the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care.
California is in the middle of a housing policy crisis that is stubbornly hard for lawmakers to solve. Families are struggling to pay rent. First-time buyers are watching prices climb out of reach. Communities across the state are losing young people who can’t afford to stay where they grew up.Over the past several years, the California Legislature has passed important reforms designed to speed up housing production, cut red tape, and make it easier to build in the places where people want to live. But now, buried deep in one of...
California is in the middle of a housing policy crisis that is stubbornly hard for lawmakers to solve. Families are struggling to pay rent. First-time buyers are watching prices climb out of reach. Communities across the state are losing young people who can’t afford to stay where they grew up.
Over the past several years, the California Legislature has passed important reforms designed to speed up housing production, cut red tape, and make it easier to build in the places where people want to live. But now, buried deep in one of their recent reform laws is a provision that threatens to undo much of that progress.
That new law, Assembly Bill 130, will create a new Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) housing tax that affects the vast majority of new housing projects in the state. Though the housing tax has been branded as “optional”, in practicality, local governments, who often look for any excuse to deny new housing, have full discretion to decide whether it applies and at what level. Noncompliance could open the door to costly CEQA lawsuits, leaving builders no choice but to pay and pass the costs along to homeowners and renters.
The costs of such a fee are staggering. According to a Caltrans-funded study, the VMT housing tax could cost $16,200 per home or apartment every year for 20 years, a total of $324,000 per unit. To put that in perspective, that’s like adding a $2 fee on every mile driven over a state-imposed VMT limit. That added cost alone is enough to make many projects financially impossible.
The impact on families will be severe. The National Association of Home Builders’ “priced-out” study shows that every $1,000 increase in the cost of a home prices nearly 9,000 California households out of the California housing market. At $324,000, this tax will put homeownership out of reach for an additional 818,000 households.
The cost of the housing tax won’t just affect homeowners; it will affect renters too. On new apartments, the tax translates to about $1,350 in additional rent every month, a 48 percent jump over the state’s median rent. For working families already struggling to make ends meet, that’s simply not sustainable.
Proponents of the tax argue it will fund affordable housing and reduce driving, but the legislation does not guarantee that the money will stay in the community where it’s collected. Instead, it can be pooled into a statewide fund with little accountability and no certainty that local residents will see a direct benefit. That means neighborhoods paying the tax could see no new housing or transportation improvements nearby.
The damage won’t stop at higher prices. Housing projects across the state are already operating on razor-thin margins due to high land costs, regulatory fees, and construction expenses due to new tariffs. Adding hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit will force many developments to be canceled entirely. That means fewer homes, fewer construction jobs, and less economic activity in the communities that need it most. The law of supply and demand is clear: if we build fewer homes, prices go up for everyone. Failing to build more homes means California’s housing policy crisis will never be solved.
AB 130 contains some important housing reforms, but those reforms mean nothing if we create a costly new tax on housing. The VMT housing tax provisions are a serious misstep that will undermine the very policies they are meant to complement. If lawmakers truly want to solve our housing policy crisis, they should repeal this provision before it causes lasting harm.
California’s future depends on getting housing policy right. That means protecting reforms that work and rejecting policies, like the VMT housing tax, that will only make our housing crisis worse.
Dan Dunmoyer is president and CEO of the California Building Industry Association.
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