Donna was like so many people in our region.

She was caring for her elderly parents, but as they aged, the demands involved with this care began to swell.

Donna lived with her parents. She helped them cook, clean and handle routine home maintenance. She helped with their paperwork, scheduled their doctors’ appointments and assisted with their personal grooming. She did all of this while trying to work full-time and have a life of her own.

In April of this year, as her mother’s health declined, the demands became simply too great for Donna to handle alone, but she did not want to put her parents in a nursing home.

“For me, to try to take care of both of them, I just couldn’t do it anymore,” explains Donna, a Penn Hills resident. “It was taking its toll on me, too. I had to keep my job. That was the only thing I had to support us.”

She called Homestead Unlimited Inc., a non-medical personal care service with offices in Greensburg and Johnstown that specializes in situations like Donna’s. Reps come to the homes of people in need and help with routine things like cooking, cleaning and grooming.

Donna’s 82-year-old mother was in the hospital with terminal cancer when she requested to simply “go home,” something she was able to do thanks in large part to Homestead Unlimited.

Her mother received the company’s services only for a week before she passed away, but spending her final days at home was extremely important to her, Donna explains.

Her 84-year-old father remains under the services of Homestead Unlimited. Three times each week, representatives come to Donna’s Penn Hills home to cook meals and help with basic chores.

Homestead Unlimited was founded in Johnstown in 1994 and opened an office in Greensburg in 2006. The business services people throughout the Pittsburgh area and even as far away as Centre County.

“We concentrate on things that keep people safe and happy in their own homes as long as possible,” says Clinton Dull, director of Homestead Unlimited’s Greensburg office.

Homestead offers three different types of service:

• Personal Care – Helping with things such as getting dressed, bathing and grooming.
• Homemaker – Helping with light housekeeping, meal preparation and even laundry.
• Companionship -- Keeping an elderly person company and making sure he or she is safe and occupied.

While Homestead Unlimited does not perform at-home healthcare – such as administering intravenous medications – the company does partner with other agencies to insure that the person gets every type of care needed.

“It’s very rewarding being able to help keep people home and keep people happy,” says Dull. “Keeping them home is what it’s all about.”

Cost for Homestead Unlimited’s services range depending on the type and amount of care needed and the client’s insurance. For more information, visit www.homesteadunlimited.com or call 800-895-9190.