In-Home Care for Palm Coast and the Hammock

When Hurricane Matthew came up the coast in October 2016, Flagler County ordered everyone east of the Intracoastal to evacuate, the Hammock included, along with all of the C Section and parts of the F Section, and warned that once sustained winds reached 45 mph the bridges would close and first responders would not be able to respond. At 6 p.m. on October 7, as the storm passed, the National Weather Service recorded a storm surge 6 feet deep in the Palm Coast saltwater canal, about 44 inches over the bulkhead. Hurricane Milton, in October 2024, brought rain instead: between October 5 and 11 the city measured 16.06 inches in its southwest and 13.53 in the west, and its utility department sent tank trucks to the Woodlands to pump water off impassable roads. Since 2024 the county has not used lettered evacuation zones, partly because Palm Coast’s neighborhoods already go by letter. It now maps a Potential Hurricane Evacuation Zone on the east side of the county and, when it orders an evacuation, publishes a separate map of the neighborhoods that must leave. Look up your parent’s address on the county’s Hurricane Evacuation Planning Zones map rather than going by the section letter.

Losing power brings a problem particular to Palm Coast. In neighborhoods on the city’s PEP sewer system, each house has a buried tank and a small electric pump, and without power the tank holds about a normal day’s use; after that, wastewater can back up into the house, usually in the shower first. The city asks those households to skip laundry and the dishwasher, cut back on showers and flushing, and call utility customer service, not a plumber, if the red alarm light comes on. On October 10, 2024, after Milton, more than 50,000 Flagler County customers were still without power. Residents who depend on electricity for life-supporting equipment, or who need help with basic everyday tasks, can register with Flagler County Emergency Management’s special needs program at (386) 313-4200, but special needs shelter staff do not give one-on-one care, and the county asks that caregivers come along. With live-in care, someone is already in the house when a watch is posted: packing medications and paperwork, keeping water use down while the pump is out, and making it possible to leave early, before the bridges close. For the coast south of the Hammock, see home care in Flagler Beach.

Flagler County Public Transportation runs shared-ride, door-to-door trips for $2 each way, for residents with little other way to get around who are over 60, have a disability that keeps them from driving, or have a low income. Riders must apply and be approved before the first trip, new bookings are taken at (386) 313-4100, the county suggests booking four to five days ahead, there is no same-day service, and drivers wait three minutes at the pickup before moving on. It does not leave the county, so a specialist in Daytona Beach or Jacksonville needs another ride. Companion care fills those gaps: a caregiver who drives to the appointment, waits, takes notes and picks up the prescription, or who simply has your parent ready at the door when the county bus pulls up. The county’s senior center meets at the Nexus Center on Commerce Parkway in Bunnell, about 9 minutes’ drive from Seminole Woods, on weekdays, with a hot lunch, exercise, line dancing and bingo (see home care in Bunnell). For a parent who can no longer cook, the county’s Meals on Wheels delivers frozen meals each week to eligible residents over 60.

For a parent with memory loss, Alzheimer’s and dementia care keeps a weekday rhythm going at home: the same morning routine, lunch at the same hour, a walk or an outing, and a familiar face instead of a new building. The county’s subsidized in-home services, provided through contracted agencies, start with a screening by the Aging and Disability Resource Center at 1-888-242-4464, and the county notes that waitlists, fees and service restrictions may apply; private-pay care can cover the wait. To see every town and ZIP code we serve, visit our Ponte Vedra service areas page.