Andrew , Editor & Owner
RN, BSN · Texas License #804621
Twenty years in clinical and home care. Writes the cost, dementia, and Houston chapters. Trained at UT Health and Houston Methodist.
Texas Board of NursingCDP CertifiedHouston Methodist alum
The Guide.
Chapter I
Cost & Insurance.
What it actually costs in Houston, what your long-term care policy covers, what the VA pays for, and what Medicare does and does not.
Cost & Insurance
The real cost of home care in Houston, 2026.
Hourly rates by service type, what 24-hour care actually runs, and the four hidden line-items families miss when they compare quotes.
Reviewed Apr 2026Read article →
Cost & Insurance
How to actually use your long-term care policy.
Reading the daily benefit, the elimination period, and the activities-of-daily-living trigger. Why most claims are denied on first submission.
Reviewed Mar 2026Read article →
Cost & Insurance
VA Aid & Attendance: a Houston playbook.
Who qualifies, what it pays, the income and asset thresholds, and the two forms families miss that delay approval by six months.
Reviewed Feb 2026Read article →
Cost & Insurance
Reading the care contract before you sign.
Cancellation, holiday rates, minimum shifts, and the eight clauses we have seen cost families thousands.
Reviewed Feb 2026Read article →
Chapter II
Memory & Dementia.
The flagship of our practice. How the dementias differ, how to keep someone safe at home, and the small daily rituals that change everything for a family.
Memory & Dementia
A family handbook for Alzheimer's & dementia.
Stages, sundowning, the conversations to have early, and the difference between Alzheimer's, Lewy Body, and vascular, in plain English.
Reviewed Mar 2026Read article →
Memory & Dementia
Sundowning: what to do when the day turns.
Why it happens, the late-afternoon checklist, and the four environmental fixes that calm 80% of episodes within a week.
Reviewed Apr 2026Read article →
Memory & Dementia
Lewy Body, vascular, frontotemporal: how the dementias differ.
Why the diagnosis matters for care planning, what changes about safety, and the symptoms a Houston family should not ignore.
Reviewed Apr 2026Read article →
Chapter III
Aging at home.
The signs to look for on your next visit. The home modifications that prevent the fall. The honest comparison between staying home and moving.
Aging at Home
Twelve quiet signs a parent needs help.
The mail pile. The fridge. The bruises they hide. A nurse's checklist for what to look for on your next visit home.
Reviewed Apr 2026Read article →
Aging at Home
Hospital to home: the first 72 hours.
The discharge checklist that prevents 30-day readmission. Medications, follow-ups, equipment, and the call you should make on day one.
Reviewed Mar 2026Read article →
Chapter IV
The Hard Conversations.
The talks no one teaches you how to have. With a parent who refuses help, with a sibling who disagrees, with the person who should not be driving anymore.
Chapter V
Houston, specifically.
The local guides nobody else writes. Hospital discharge protocols, neighborhood realities, Texas-specific programs, and the local resources we recommend by name.
The Quarterly Letter
A short letter, four times a year.
From a Houston nurse, to families weighing the same questions you are. New chapters, the latest Anchor Report, and a private correspondence column, once a quarter, no more.
Letters to the Editor
Write to Andrew, directly.
A question for a future chapter. A correction. A story you want told. Letters are read personally and answered within forty-eight hours. The best ones, with permission, get published.
houstongalleria@homewatchcaregivers.comNeed to talk it through with a person?
A care manager will spend twenty minutes on the phone with you. No sales pitch, just clear answers to whatever you are weighing right now.