TheKey Home Care: Reviews and Costs in 2025
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February 7, 2025
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TheKey, formerly Home Care Assistance in most states, is a good place to start if you are looking for reliable caregivers for yourself or a loved one. Like most agencies, TheKey offers custodial medical and nonmedical home care services and specialized care for people with dementia or people returning from hospital stays.
What separates TheKey are its options for live-in caregivers. For people with chronic conditions looking to avoid nursing home care, a live-in caregiver could be a helpful option.
Here’s our experience with TheKey.
Pro Tip: An alternative to home care agencies is finding private help. To find out if this is the right option for you, check out our guide to finding a home health aide.
TheKey Pros and Cons
TheKey Pros
- Live-in care: TheKey offers a unique opportunity for their caregivers to live on-site at a client’s home. Clients can book live-in caregivers for either short- or long-term periods for palliative care or assistance while living with chronic conditions.
- Highly qualified caregivers: Caregivers at TheKey are highly trained and qualified professionals, many of whom are experienced registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) in addition to home health aides (HHA).
- Specialized care: TheKey offers specialized care services from nurses for individuals recovering from strokes or living with cancer or Parkinson’s disease.
TheKey Cons
- Services limited by state: Skilled nursing is only available in California, Maryland, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts.
- Visit minimums: Most TheKey locations require visits of at least four hours.
- Higher-than-average prices: In the three cities in which we've had clients, they’ve paid above the median cost for health home aides. However, this may not be the case for all locations, as they’re owned and operated independently.
TheKey Review
Background
Founded as Home Care Assistance in Silicon Valley in 2002, TheKey is one of the largest premium home care providers, with a vast network of caregivers and client care managers. The company’s mission is to be the agency of choice for families looking for customized, dignified care for their loved ones. In 2022, Home Care Assistance rebranded as TheKey, although their Philadelphia location is still under the original name. The company is based in Delray Beach, Florida, and has locations in 31 states. TheKey caregivers are also available in Canada and Australia.
Services
TheKey offers a variety of hourly at-home services, including personal care assistance and specialized care for older adults with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or Parkinson’s. Here’s an overview of the company’s services.
- Live-in care: For aging adults who need constant support, TheKey offers live-in caregivers for short- or long-term needs. Live-in caregivers provide constant assistance during waking hours, but this service is not the same as 24/7 care, which requires several shifts from multiple caregivers.
- Personal care: TheKey offers a variety of personal care services, such as medication reminders, bathing, dressing, grooming assistance, and toileting. In addition to personal care, caregivers can help with lifestyle support, including light housekeeping and grocery shopping.
- Hospital-to-home care: Transitioning from the hospital to the home can be challenging for many older adults. TheKey offers continued care in the comfort of your home for a safe and successful recovery.
- Memory care: TheKey can provide nonmedical care for those with memory impairments like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
- Specialized care: TheKey caregivers can provide needed support for older adults with heart issues such as strokes, cancer, and Parkinson’s disease.
- Skilled nursing: TheKey offers private duty nursing in six states: New York, California, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, and Maryland. These nurses can administer medicines, care for someone before or after a surgery, and provide end-of-life care.
Customer Experience
TheKey operates in many locations, so your experience may vary slightly. Here’s what we found when we contacted several offices near us:
- TheKey caregivers cost between $33 and $43 per hour, depending on the level of care.
- Generally TheKey requires a four-hour minimum visit time.
- Care is arranged through a home visit or virtual consultation. Then, the company creates a customized care plan and matches the senior with a caregiver.
- The agency tries to provide the same caregivers each time, but can’t guarantee it.
The company’s customer service was prompt and helpful, but we felt a bit rushed to make a decision compared to our experience with other home care agencies.
Third-Party Reviews
Because TheKey is a franchise, each location is owned and operated independently, so the customer reviews vary by location. We looked at Yelp reviews for a few locations across the U.S., some of which reference TheKey by its former name, Home Care Assistance:
“My mother was a very active senior, but when her back pain became too great, she had to scale back and we needed to find in home care for her. In 2013, we were referred to Home Care Assistance. We have had a range of care situations over the last 3 years…4 hours a few days a week up to 24/7 care.
**I cannot say enough good things about this agency!**.
As I have had to manage my mom's needs from long distance, they have gone so far above and beyond in my mom's care that it has been a huge weight off of my mind. The caregivers truly do care and are all willing to go the extra mile for her. The administrators, Bridget Lynch and Claudia Hernandez, have been warm and professional and very responsive to changes in her needs.
Give them a call…you will *not* be disappointed!”- Ann Arbor, Michigan
“Evelyn has been so helpful for my father in dealing with my mother's Alzheimer's. My mom is combative and Evelyn handles it with grace and patience.”- Aliso Viejo, California
“Caregivers are good but office response is abysmal. Like talking to a stone . Has access to a large number of potential caregivers so can find substitute caregivers with little notice.”- Oakland, California
We recommend looking at Yelp, Google, and Better Business Bureau profiles for your nearest location to get an idea of customers’ experiences.
With Care.com, you can find trusted, local caregivers.
Cost and Pricing
TheKey’s pricing is dependent on each location, as the company is a franchise with independent owners and operators. Here’s what our clients have paid in locations across the U.S.:
- Philadelphia: One of the only locations still operating as Home Care Assistance, our clients have paid anywhere from $34 to $38 an hour, with a four-hour–per-shift and 20-hour–per-week minimum. This is higher than the median of Genworth’s cost of home health aides in Pennsylvania, which is $31.
- Scottsdale, Arizona: Our clients in Phoenix have paid $49 to $43 an hour, higher than the state median, $36. The Scottsdale location has a four-hour–per-visit minimum.
- North Palm Beach, Florida: In Florida, where the median cost of care is $30 an hour, TheKey starts at $33 an hour, with a four-hour–per-shift minimum and a 12-hour–per-week minimum.
TheKey Areas Served
Based in Delray Beach, Florida, TheKey has locations in the following states:
- Alaska
- Alabama
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Note that skilled nursing is only available in:
- California
- Florida
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- New York
TheKey is also available in the following regions in Canada:
- Alberta
- Barrie (still under Home Care Assistance)
- British Columbia
- Edmonton (still under Home Care Assistance)
- Manitoba
- Nova Scotia
- Ontario
- Quebec
- Victoria (still under Home Care Assistance)
Finally, there are still Home Care Assistance locations in Australia:
- Central Coast
- Gold Coast
- Newcastle
- North Coast
- Perth
- Southeast Melbourne
- Sunshine Coast
- Sydney City
Bottom Line
Although TheKey may not have the lowest prices around, you will not want to skimp on quality caregiving, especially with TheKey’s variety of medical and nonmedical services.
To learn more about home care agencies and ways to age safely in place, check out our other guides.
TheKey Frequently Asked Questions
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What is TheKey?
TheKey is a caregiving company that provides in-home medical and nonmedical care to older adults and people with disabilities.
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How much does TheKey cost?
TheKey costs $33 to $43 per hour, but costs vary by location.
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Which states have TheKey?
The following states have TheKey:
- Alaska
- Alabama
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
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How much does TheKey pay caregivers?
According to TheKey, payments for caregivers vary by location and other factors. However, according to Indeed, the average caregiver hourly rate for TheKey is $18.15, which is 20 percent higher than the national average. Glassdoor puts this number at $15 to $20 an hour or around $17 on average, putting it in the median range across the U.S.
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What makes TheKey different?
Along with personal care and assistance with daily living, TheKey also offers the option of live-in care for seniors who are recovering from injury or need specialized attention for chronic and degenerative conditions.