Home care in Bunnell, Espanola and western Flagler County

Bunnell is the seat of Flagler County, and the county government works from East Moody Boulevard. Home care in Bunnell, though, means a ZIP code that reaches far past downtown: north to Espanola on Old Dixie Highway, southeast to Korona, and west along State Road 100 and County Road 305 toward Dead Lake and Crescent Lake. Our caregivers cover all of it, and a call or text reaches our office day or night.

In much of that country the pharmacy, the grocery store and the doctor are a drive away, and so is the nearest neighbor. For a parent who has stopped driving, that distance is the real worry. Companion care brings a friendly face and a driver to a house that sees few visitors, and hourly care takes on bathing, cooking and laundry on the days your loved one can't manage them alone.

Flagler County runs its senior programs from Bunnell. The Flagler County Senior Center meets in the community room of the Nexus Center, 2199 Commerce Parkway, weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; its number is (386) 313-4370. County Senior Services, in the same building, delivers five frozen meals every Tuesday to eligible residents over 60 and arranges help funded through the state's Community Care for the Elderly program.

We're a private-pay agency, so care with us doesn't depend on qualifying for a program: families pay us directly by bank transfer or credit card, and if your loved one has long-term care insurance, we file the claims and the policy reimburses you. For memory loss, Alzheimer's and dementia care keeps a steady routine, and a caregiver can drive your loved one to lunch at the Nexus Center.

Flagler County Public Transportation runs shared, door-to-door rides for $2 each way. Riders apply and are approved first, then book at (386) 313-4100 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., ideally four to five days ahead.

There are no same-day rides and no trips out of the county, and the driver waits three minutes before leaving, which isn't long at the end of a rural driveway with a walker. A caregiver can have your loved one ready at the door when the bus pulls up, or drive them instead, including to a specialist outside Flagler County.

Both of the county's hospitals are in Palm Coast and both are AdventHealth: AdventHealth Palm Coast on Memorial Medical Parkway off State Road 100, and AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway. Whichever one discharges your parent, hospital-to-home care puts a caregiver in the house that day, and when home is far from town, overnight care covers the first nights. See home care in Palm Coast for the hospitals' side of the county.

Living miles from the beach doesn't keep a mobile home out of an evacuation order. As Hurricane Ian approached in 2022, Flagler County's evacuation order covered residents of mobile homes and RVs countywide, and it opened Bunnell Elementary on North Palmetto Street as a shelter for people and pets, with a special needs shelter at Rymfire Elementary in Palm Coast.

In a mobile home, the order can reach your loved one no matter where the address is. Out toward Dead Lake and Crescent Lake, the county also maps a separate Potential Lake Flood Zone, so look up a house near the water on the county's evacuation map.

If your parent depends on oxygen or medical equipment

A parent who uses oxygen or depends on powered medical equipment can join the county's Special Needs Registry online or at (386) 313-4200. A special needs shelter isn't a replacement for a plan, so settle where your parent will go, and who drives, before a storm is in the forecast. We're glad to help you think it through.

With 24-hour care, a caregiver is already in the house to take your loved one to family or a shelter as soon as the order comes, instead of waiting for you to drive up from Jacksonville or down from Daytona. Toward the coast, see home care in Flagler Beach.

Some families here have a parent in a house close to downtown, and others have one in a mobile home out past the edge of town. Each needs something a little different. In town, it may be help with showers and a clean kitchen. Farther out, it is often longer visits, a full refrigerator and a caregiver who notices when something seems off.

Life in the county seat comes with its own errands, from a stop at the county offices on Moody Boulevard to the drugstore and the market, and a caregiver stays alongside for each one. When a hospital stay has upended the usual week, they help rebuild it piece by piece, starting with meals at the regular hours and a short walk after lunch.

Senior care in Bunnell keeps friendships going. Your dad's caregiver can get him to lunch with the group at the Nexus Center, sit with him through a church service or help him reach his brother on a video call. We send updates from our Ponte Vedra office after visits, which helps when you can only get down on weekends.