Start with the night, not the invoice. Each option for the trip from bed to toilet has a cost that never shows up on a bill: your sleep, a second person awake in the house, and a fall that leaves her on the floor until someone finds her. Count those first, then compare the numbers.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
What pushes the cost up
The biggest driver is how many times she gets up. If she makes the trip once a night, a single check may be enough. If it happens three or four times, you are paying for someone awake through the hours in between, and the bill grows with every trip. Ask each service how its price is set: by the hour, by the visit, by the night, or with a minimum shift. A minimum can cost more than the work you actually need.
Look next at what the helper must do. Someone who only checks in, reminds her of the route, and stays nearby costs less than someone who must lift her or stay until she is back in bed. Ask whether same-day starts carry an extra charge, because some services add one.
What pulls the cost down
Fix the route before you buy hours. Every stop you can remove from the six-stop walk, such as clear floor, working light, or a bed that is not too high, removes trips that someone would otherwise have to watch. That work costs less than an awake helper for a month.
Split the nights among family members on paper. Write down who covers which nights and which hours. Then the paid hours only fill the gaps, and you pay for the gaps alone.
Compare on paper, not by memory
Ask each option for its terms in writing: the hourly or nightly rate, the minimum, what counts as a visit, what is extra, and how changes are billed when her trips increase. Put the answers side by side. The cheapest first quote is often the one that leaves out the trips you will actually need covered.
Prices change by provider and by house, so this guide does not list them. For how this desk handles figures and sources, see How we write this desk.